This post contains some of the best quotes about jealousy and envy.
Envy vs. Jealousy
Envy and jealousy are often used interchangeably, but they actually refer to different experiences.
Envy is the feeling of wanting something that someone else has.
Jealousy, on the other hand, is the fear of losing something that you already have to someone else.
It’s important to recognize the difference between these two emotions because they can lead to different behaviors.
Envy can motivate you to work harder and strive to achieve your own goals. However, jealousy can lead to possessiveness, controlling behaviors, and even aggression.
Quotes About Jealousy And Envy
1. “Along with the idea of romantic love, she was introduced to another–physical beauty. Probably the most destructive ideas in the history of human thought. Both originated in envy, thrived in insecurity, and ended in disillusion.” ― Toni Morrison
2. “Anger, resentment and jealousy doesn’t change the heart of others– it only changes yours.” ― Shannon Alder
3. “Blessed is he who has learned to admire but not envy, to follow but not imitate, to praise but not flatter, and to lead but not manipulate.” ― William Arthur Ward
4. “Envy is for people who don’t have the self-esteem to be jealous.” ― Bauvard
5. “Envy is the religion of the mediocre. It comforts them, it soothes their worries, and finally it rots their souls, allowing them to justify their meanness and their greed until they believe these to be virtues. Such people are convinced that the doors of heaven will be opened only to poor wretches like themselves who go through life without leaving any trace but their threadbare attempts to belittle others and to exclude – and destroy if possible – those who, by the simple fact of their existence, show up their own poorness of spirit, mind, and guts. Blessed be the one at whom the fools bark, because his soul will never belong to them.” ― Carlos Ruiz Zafón
6. “Envy, after all, comes from wanting something that isn’t yours. But grief comes from losing something you’ve already had.” ― Jodi Picoult
Related: Retroactive Jealousy Test (+Top 9 Tips On How To Deal With Retroactive Jealousy?)
7. “Greed, envy, sloth, pride and gluttony: these are not vices anymore. No, these are marketing tools. Lust is our way of life. Envy is just a nudge towards another sale. Even in our relationships we consume each other, each of us looking for what we can get out of the other. Our appetites are often satisfied at the expense of those around us. In a dog-eat-dog world we lose part of our humanity.” ― Jon Foreman
8. “I envy people that know love. That have someone who takes them as they are.” ― Jess C Scott
9. “It is in the character of very few men to honor without envy a friend who has prospered.” ― Aeschylus
10. “Jealousy is a disease, love is a healthy condition. The immature mind often mistakes one for the other, or assumes that the greater the love, the greater the jealousy – in fact, they are almost incompatible; one emotion hardly leaves room for the other.” ― Robert A. Heinlein
11. “Jealousy is love in competition.” ― Toba Beta
12. “Jealousy isn’t a pleasant quality, but if it isn’t overdone (and if it’s combined with modesty), apart from its inconvenience there’s even something touching about it.” ― Milan Kundera
13. “Jealousy, that dragon which slays love under the pretence of keeping it alive.” ― Havelock Ellis
Related: Overcoming Envy: How To Stop Feeling Envious Of Others’ Success?
14. “Most haters are stuck in a poisonous mental prison of jealousy and self-doubt that blinds them to their own potentiality.” ― Steve Maraboli
15. “Our envy always lasts longer than the happiness of those we envy.” ― François Duc de La Rochefoucauld
16. “Some people suffer from the green-eyed monster called envy.” ― Ana Monnar
17. “They envy the distinction I have won; let them, therefore, envy my toils, my honesty, and the methods by which I gained it.” ― Sallust
18. “Those people, who hate you, envy your freedom.” ― Santosh Kalwar
19. “What is jealousy but a reflection of your own failures?” ― Michael Connelly
20. “What sort of love is permeated by jealousy? You are jealous because you are unaware that everything you need is inside you.” ― Peter Deunov
21. “You can’t be yourself within jealousy.” ― Toba Beta
Related: How To Live A Peaceful Life? 101 Timeless Principles to Find Peace Within Yourself
Conclusion
If you find yourself experiencing envy or jealousy, it’s important to reflect on the underlying reasons for these emotions.
Are you feeling insecure about your own abilities or possessions? Are there issues in your relationships that need to be addressed?
By addressing the root causes of these emotions, you can better understand yourself and improve your well-being.