Going Green

When you keep up with a number of blogs, like I do, it is easy to get caught up in the best of someone else's life. The pictures are all the happy ones, the posts are well crafted, and the blogger seems to triumph in even the worst of times.

It is easy to find yourself with a little case of the envies.

It is something most of us struggle with. Some, more than others. You wish you had your sister's big boobs, your friend's giant house, or your neighbor's new car. You wonder why you can't have another blogger's traffic, someone's freelance jobs, or just a fat stack of family money to get you through a tough time. The wish becomes something you can't shake and turns to something uglier.

But here is what I have learned about it. Envy causes you to become stuck. You fix yourself to an idea of how things should be until finally you aren't moving forward.

If you really want what someone else has, you have to stop and ask yourself if you are willing to take the whole package. The big boobs come with an off and on weight problem. The giant house comes with a cheating husband. The new car? Bought with a painful inheritance. The blog with a million comments also comes with a bunch of mean spirited snark. The freelance work means late night stress. The family money? Well, that's never really a freebie, is it?

So the next time you find yourself a little stuck, let it go. And try to remember that going green with envy isn't going to save the planet, or yourself. It's one green practice I make sure to avoid.