A wise woman once said, “You can only be jealous of someone who has something you think you ought to have yourself.”
We’ve all had those moments. Those jealous moments. The ones where you look at social media and you say I wish I had that.
In the coaching world, it is easy to turn green with envy. The coaching world is shockingly very small. There’s not a day that goes by where I don’t open any of my social media apps and see a fellow coach's wife speaking about their season.
“Winners!” “Undefeated!” “State champions!”
And, what am I? Jealous. I can’t hide it.
My husband is in his fifth season of coaching. His first season was a gloomy 0-10 season. The seasons that followed could be described as a mixed bag. No state championship yet, no undefeated seasons ... yet.
As we continue on this path, we’ve met plenty of people at multiple schools. Each with their own story and their own chapters both opening and closing.
When will our time come? How is it happening to others, but not to us?
I have a friend I visit regularly. Her husband and my husband coached together for a few years and now, they have opened a new chapter at a new school.
Each week, I would see the posts, “Another win!” or “Undefeated!” I couldn’t help but be secretly jealous of their successes.
I promptly found this quote: “Envy is the art of counting other fellow’s blessings rather than your own.”
I found myself counting their blessings rather than my own. The sour attitude I had was causing a ripple effect throughout all parts of my life.
There needed to be a shift. Instead of being jealous, I decided to be proud. I’m proud to know these people. Proud to see them succeed. Proud to see my own husband and his team succeed.
You see, it is more important to raise each other up than beat each other down. We need to get out of our own minds. Is jealousy a normal reaction? Of course. It doesn't mean you're a bad person. But, we must also work to change our mindsets. We cannot change what God has planned for us.
So, understand this: when you have those occasional jealous emotions, stop and think, “What makes me proud?” Because I promise, you’ll have more moments you’re proud of than moments where jealousy takes over.