Envy is Ignorance

American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson once said that envy is ignorance. Many have tried to analyze and decipher what he meant. Some have come up with strange ideas and suppositions that have very little to do with the original quote.  It’s quite simple, really, if you understand what envy is and what ignorance is.

According to dictionary.com envy is “a feeling of discontent or covetousness with regard to another's advantages, success, possessions, etc.” In other words, envy is feeling unhappy because another person know is more successful than you are.  This person might possess things you wish you had and you might even go so far as to think that this person does not deserve any of these “lucky breaks” they are getting. You might compare situations and conclude that you are a better, kinder, nobler person and therefore you should be the one receiving all that that person has. 

Based on this definition, there is no such thing as “good” envy. It is what it is: a negative feeling that happens to most humans. Envy can be masked many times as concern, devotion, criticism, judgment, and more. And it gets even uglier when envy causes you to secretly celebrate when bad things happen to people you know.

In regards to ignorance, dictionary.com defines it as “a lack of knowledge, learning, information, etc.” In other words, you’re ignorant when you don’t know something you’re supposed to know. In this day and age, you would be called ignorant if you didn’t possess basic computer skills, but few would call you that if you didn’t know how to knit long johns.

If we go back to Emerson’s quote and paraphrase it, it seems like he is saying that when you harbor feelings of discontent in regards to another’s success, you lack information.  You might be asking what kind of information.  It’s simple but complicated at the same time because first you need to recognize that envy is a colossal waste of energy. Energy that could be used on something more constructive like figuring out what you need to do to achieve greater success in your own life.  That’s the information you are lacking.

You have probably been hearing for years that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to, and you probably think it’s not exactly true. We all know people who have struggled and fought to reach their goals only to be disappointed again and again.  But the key is not in setting a goal; it’s in setting your mind. There’s a huge difference there that most people overlook.

It’s your mind--your thoughts that need to be renewed in order to see changes in your life. It’s a Law of life and it’s in the Bible. You can write down as many goals and resolutions as you wish, but if you don’t fix them in your thoughts and expect to fulfill them, you’re just setting yourself up for disillusionment.

Yes, envy is indeed ignorance. Stop wasting precious time coveting what others have because you are equally talented and endowed. Get your thoughts straightened out “for as he thinketh is his heart, so is he” (The Bible)