Envy (or its close cousin jealousy) is bad, right?
It is one of the seven deadly sins.
We should never, ever admit to being envious.
Bull shit.
Whenever I feel envy or jealousy,
I know the feeling is about me
and about what I truly want
(which is often different
from what I think I want).
One of my writing buddies
landed a single title, New York contract.
All of her success is hinged
on this single book.
The concept stresses me out.
I didn’t feel a tinge of envy.
One of my other buddies
landed a series contract with Harlequin.
She is expected to write
several books a year for them,
gradually building her readership.
I was so envious,
I couldn’t sleep the night I heard.
(I was happy for her too,
being happy for others
and being envious isn’t mutually exclusive)
This showed me
what type of writing career I truly wanted.
Envy is a very powerful emotion.
It is true. It is strong.
Use it to show you
what you truly want.