Seeing millions of successful entrepreneurs all around the world, a common misperception could be that they all possess healthy personality traits that they should keep on leveraging.

However, that’s hardly ever true! Research shows that even the most successful people may have challenges that may hinder their progress in the long run.

“An Envious Soul” could be one such personality that could develop in most successful CEOs, business tycoons, and even the emerging leaders.

 

An Envious Soul is focusing on her competition. The personality makes a business woman thinks that she should track her competitors, keep up with their moves, and copy them when needed, irrespective of her assets, resources, values and true self. 

How is The Personality Shaped?

According to Windy Dryden, a Cognitive Behavioral Therapist, envy is not something that is innate. Envy develops over time and there are two key factors that make an individual more vulnerable towards developing an envious soul: deprivation, intolerance, and low self-esteem. 

We tend to feel envious of other people’s successes when we are unable to get our needs met. This feeling of deprivation, when combined with low self-esteem makes us think that we are failing at life.

Now, social media plays a strong role in it; you may see your competitors online and match their status with yours. The inner dialogue could be “Why couldn’t I achieve this?” or “They are doing so well; am I failing?”.

Feeling envious of the competition can make us overlook our core strengths at hand and focus more on what’s lacking in our life. To overcome this, recognize what it is that you inherently need and see if you can survive without it. If not having that thing does not make you any less worthy, start focusing on fulfilling your other needs. However, if getting that something is crucially important for your success, make sound goals and strategies to fulfill your vision. Name envy as an emotion and try to comprehend what it’s telling you about your needs.

Also, people who rarely receive encouraging and affirmative words from their parents or significant others could also develop this unhealthy thinking pattern. They may try to please the important people in their life by superseding their competition at all costs. This need for appreciation turns into a disastrous commitment issue; they start focusing more on being ahead in the race rather than leveraging what they have.

Everyone has something unique, and this is the silver lining here! Someone who is your competition is operating according to his own means, resources, goals, strategy, and current standing. The step that could be suitable for him to take right now might not be for you, and vice versa.

Rather than feeling resentment towards people’s achievements and progress, it’s better to stick to your own vision and core values. Always make sure to know yourself very well and to reflect that knowledge on your decision and business.

Crush The Envious Soul Inside You

So, take a deep look inside and ask yourself: what am I constantly trying to prove? Am I fixated on achieving what I saw people have? Rather than taking inspiration, do I feel sad about myself when I see other people’s successes? 

If the answer to the above questions is yes, then you actively need to find the root cause for this thinking and ask yourself: WHAT AM I MISSING?

If you cannot figure it out, it’s always best to talk to an expert for deeper introspection. Talk it out and develop a sound strategy to move forward.  

The sooner a person understands the adverse implications of an envious soul, the quickly he can steer his vision in the right direction. 

What’s The Takeaway?

We all are humans and may stray away from our vision due to endless struggle between competitors. But it’s important to remember that the success of your competition doesn’t necessarily mean YOUR failure. 

Also, we humans are shaped by our past experiences, and business leaders are no different! This is why everyone should resolve their unmet needs and unhealthy thinking blocks to run their business with a sound mindset and adaptive personality.

- Dr. Areej