Celebrating The Success Of Others
—Celebrating The Success of Others—
Is something I struggle with. I like to think that many of us do. Jealousy is a cruel master (someone else’s words, I’m sure. You can substitute pretty much any word for ‘jealousy’ and it’d have the same rhetorical effect). It’s part of the reason why I despise social media. Or perhaps the entire reason. Ever life’s highlight reel, the Instagrams and the TikToks and the Twitters showcase the successes of others (including my own). And every time I see someone else win, I wish it was me, instead. I want to have my time in the limelight. Me. ME. ME! Or maybe I have a love-hate relationship with the social medias. Or I just love to hate it. Or maybe I’m afraid of it… Idk, it’s toxic, whatever it is; I’m still working through it.
K, I just Googled it. “Envy is a cruel master” is attributed to Marcus Aurelius, which is embarrassing, as I’m a big fan and read through his Meditations—twice—in college. But envy and jealousy and comparison (see previous post, “Comparison is a Bitch”) really will eat you alive. So easily they can live rent free up there in the old noodle, burrowing, brooding, festering till, before you know it, an entire day has passed, or a week, or a month, and you’ve accomplished nothing. All your time has been wasted dwelling on the success of others—in the bad, jealous way.
You can channel that energy, turn it into something positive, or, better yet, productive. It’s super hard, but it’s empowering; you don’t have control over much, but over this, you do. You can change. Though even as I write it, I struggle to believe it. But I know it to be true. (The mind is a wild joint.) You can be happy for others; you’ll be happier for it.
Today was my weekly QueryTracker check-in (essentially, a time to see how my query letters and those of other prospective authors are fairing) and again, I see my sad face rejection notices, and of others I see the happy face submission requests and agent signings and book deals…
But I can be happy for them. I can celebrate the success of others.
Because your moment will come and you’ll want to be celebrated too. (Full disclosure: my therapist told me this. I stole it cuz I liked it. But all credit to him.)
All right. That’s all for now. More soon probably.
Peace,
-Taylor
TJH -- 04.18.2024