In the realm of human emotions, few are as intricate and potentially transformative as envy and jealousy. These feelings, though often seen in a negative light, hold within them the power to unveil our deepest desires and vulnerabilities. Through the words of poets, philosophers, and thinkers from various walks of life, we find solace, guidance, and a mirror to our own experiences.
This collection of 96 carefully curated quotes serves as a lantern in the darkness, illuminating the subtle nuances of envy and jealousy. Each quote encapsulates a fragment of the human experience, offering insights, reflections, and perhaps even a touch of solace for those navigating the labyrinth of these complex emotions.
As we embark on this journey through the musings of minds past and present, let us seek not only to understand envy and jealousy, but to harness their energy for self-reflection, growth, and ultimately, for the betterment of our relationships with ourselves and others. Join us as we explore the whispers of wisdom that echo through time, shedding light on the shadows of envy and jealousy that touch us all.
- You can’t be yourself within jealousy. Toba Beta
- When you criticize someone, see if you are doing it out of envy. Your criticism reveals more about yourself than you realize. Haemin Sunim
- Don’t be envious. Be inspired. Thibaut
- Envy shoots at others and wounds itself. English proverb
- Of the seven deadly sins, only envy is no fun at all. Joseph Epstein
- We experience envy when the quality we feel inferior about threatens our self-concept. Shane Parrish
- Envy of others is always a reflection of something we feel about ourselves. Shane Parrish
- It is not love that is blind, but jealousy. Lawrence Durrell
- Maybe jealousy and envy would fade if we knew the full story behind success. Maybe we would be less likely to put people on a pedestal. James Clear
- Envy and jealousy are the private parts of the human soul. Perhaps the comparison can be extended. Friedrich Nietzsche
- Jealousy is beautiful only on a young and ardent face. After the first wrinkles, trust must return. Alfred Capus
- The best way to avoid envy is to deserve the success you get. Aristotle
- You are jealous because you are unaware that everything you need is inside you. Peter Deunov
- Jealousy or a zero-sum view of success, someone else getting all the attention. Jerry Neumann
- The lovesick, the betrayed, and the jealous all smell alike. Colette
- The envious die not once, but as oft as the envied win applause. Baltasar Gracian
- Negative emotions like loneliness, envy, and guilt have an important role to play in a happy life; they’re big, flashing signs that something needs to change. Gretchen Rubin
- Envy creates silent enemies. Robert Greene
- Never outshine the master. Robert Greene
- Our culture is based on envy. Jiddu Krishnamurti
- It is better to be envied than pitied. Herodotus
- There is more self-love than love in jealousy. François de La Rochefoucauld
- It’s a completely useless emotion – jealousy. I don’t go there. Joy Behar
- Envy is an insult to oneself. Yevgeny Yevtushenko
- Envy motivates a lot of people. Shia LaBeouf
- Nobody is ever jealous about the process, only the results. Regan Jacklin
- Jealousy is the jaundice of the soul. John Dryden
- If the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, you can bet the water bill is higher. Debbie Macomber
- Nothing is as obnoxious as other people’s luck. F. Scott Fitzgerald
- Jealousy implies dissatisfaction with what you are. Jiddu Krishnamurti
- Jealousy is a keen observer, but looks for all the wrong signs. H. L. Mencken
- Pride, envy, avarice – these are the sparks have set on fire the hearts of all men. Dante Alighieri
- Envy suggests inferiority. Wayne Gerard Trotman
- A sign of wealth: no envy, no fear. Greg Isenberg
- A jealous woman does better research than FBI. Unknown
- Jealousy is always born with love, but does not die with it. François de La Rochefoucauld
- In jealousy there is more of self-love than of love to another. François de La Rochefoucauld
- The jealous are possessed by a mad devil and a dull spirit at the same time. Johann Kaspar Lavater
- More men die of jealousy than of cancer. Joseph P. Kennedy
- Jealousy sees things always with magnifying glasses which make little things large, of dwarfs giants, of suspicions truths. Miguel de Cervantes
- Jealousy is an inner consciousness of one’s own inferiority. It is a mental cancer. B. C. Forbes
- Jealousy is a miserable feeling. It means you aspire to something that you cannot have. Sophia Loren
- Jealousy is all the fun you think they had. Erica Jong
- The wicked envy and hate; it is their way of admiring. Victor Hugo
- The few who do are the envy of the many who only watch. Jim Rohn
- Growth will convert your doubters better than verbal defensiveness. Outgrow your critics in every sense. The Stoic Emperor
- Envy comes from people’s ignorance of, or lack of belief in, their own gifts. Jean Vanier
- Envy is ignorance, imitation is suicide. Ralph Waldo Emerson
- Everybody pities the weak; jealousy you have to earn. Arnold Schwarzenegger
- Every time a friend succeeds, I die a little. Gore Vidal
- Envy blinds men and makes it impossible for them to think clearly. Malcolm X
- If you find happiness, people may be jealous. Be happy anyway. Mother Teresa
- Oh, what a bitter thing it is to look into happiness through another man’s eyes. William Shakespeare
- Jealousy in romance is like salt in food. A little can enhance the savor, but too much can spoil the pleasure and, under certain circumstances, can be life-threatening. Maya Angelou
- Jealousy, an eminently credulous and suspicious passion, allows fancy the greatest possible play. But it does not bestow wit, it banishes all sense. Honoré de Balzac
- Transform jealousy to admiration, and what you admire will become part of your life. Yoko Ono
- Anger, hatred and jealousy never solve problems, only affection, concern and respect can do that. Dalai Lama
- Jealousy is the most dreadfully involuntary of all sins. Iris Murdoch
- Jealousy is an ugly emotion, but it tells the truth. You mostly envy those who have what you desire. Susan Cain
- Envy is a declaration of inferiority. Napoleon Bonaparte
- For most of us, envy is the basis of our actions; remove envy and we feel we are lost. All our effort is towards success, and in that there is envy; behind that envy there is fear. Jiddu Krishnamurti
- Envy is the art of counting the other fellow’s blessings instead of your own. Harold Coffin
- Never hate jealous people. They are jealous because they think you are better than them. Paulo Coelho
- Whoever envies another confesses his superiority. Samuel Johnson
- You can be the moon and still be jealous of the stars. Gary Allan
- Jealousy is the very reverse of understanding, of sympathy, and of generous feeling. Never has jealousy added to character, never does it make the individual big and fine. Emma Goldman
- Keep your attention focused entirely on what is truly your own concern, and be clear that what belongs to others is their business and none of yours. Epictetus
- Comparison will kill you. Be you. Gary Goodridge
- A little jealousy can be a good thing, for we may be reminded to appreciate what we have. Shane Parrish
- You’re subject to sorrow, fear, jealousy, anger and inconsistency. That’s the real reason you should admit that you are not wise. Marcus Aurelius
- As iron is eaten by rust, so are the envious consumed by envy. Antisthenes
- It is not greed that drives the world, but envy. Warren Buffett
- Jealousy is the only vice that gives no pleasure. Patrick Henry
- Our envy of others devours us most of all. Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
- A competent and self-confident person is incapable of jealousy in anything. Jealousy is invariably a symptom of neurotic insecurity. Robert A. Heinlein
- Jealousy is information. It tells you what you desire, what you admire, what you despise in yourself. You could learn from the person you envy if you weren’t blinded by resentment. Learning feels better than loathing. The Stoic Emperor
- Noble hearts are neither jealous nor afraid because jealousy spells doubt and fear spells pettiness. Honoré de Balzac
- People hate those who make them feel their own inferiority. Lord Chesterfield
- Nothing sharpens sight like envy. Thomas Fuller
- Envy is the central fact of American life. Gore Vidal
- Nothing brings on jealousy like laughter. Françoise Sagan
- Man will do many things to get himself loved; he will do all things to get himself envied. Mark Twain
- Surrounded by the flames of jealousy, the jealous one winds up, like the scorpion, turning the poisoned sting against himself. Friedrich Nietzsche
- The fastest way to lose friends and alienate people is to get better and improve yourself. Life Math Money
- Envy is pain at the good fortune of others. Aristotle
- The spirit of envy can destroy; it can never build. Margaret Thatcher
- To live without comparison is to remove a tremendous burden. Jiddu Krishnamurti
- Comparison is the thief of joy. Theodore Roosevelt
- The truest mark of being born with great qualities, is being born without envy. François de La Rochefoucauld
- Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not. Ann Brashares
- Jealousy is the tribute mediocrity pays to genius. Fulton J. Sheen
- Our envy always lasts longer than the happiness of those we envy. François de La Rochefoucauld
- The worst part of success is trying to find someone who is happy for you. Bette Midler
- A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not. Seneca
- No one can have all he wants, but a man can refrain from wanting what he has not, and cheerfully make the best of a bird in the hand. Seneca
- Do not overrate what you have received, nor envy others. He who envies others does not obtain peace of mind. Buddha