Don Kowalewski
Writer. Ad Sales and Marketing. Social Media Content Creator. Aeropress Coffee. Makes the best salsa in the world.
Fearlessness, Jealousy
Read the title of this blog? How do these feelings tie together? I’m going to keep this short because I want you to use your time here (visiting my blog) to watch the video below. It’s 2-minutes and 45-seconds, and worth watching if “jealousy” is something you feel from time to time and then feel guilty about feeling jealous.
What’s that old Bible saying? “Thou shall not covet thy neighbor’s goods (and wife).” And then something quick follows regarding “fearlessness.”
covet [kuhv-it] 1. to desire wrongfully, inordinately, or without due regard for the rights of others: to covet another’s property: to have an inordinate or wrongful desire.
Are you spending too much of your mental energy on coveting, jealousy, and envy. I am. Me! A guy who has a blog, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Tumblr, and every other social media where he regularly posts things about himself, but only the good things, with little regard about how that makes others feel (possibly “envy” because, let’s face it, even if we don’t 100% intentionally do it, posting anything on social media is usually a bit of a brag).
My thought for the day is this …when is jealousy, envy, and coveting a good thing? What if I stopped obsessing about my friend’s giant lake house and boat that I don’t have? What if stopped seeing pictures on Facebook of friends traveling to amazing, exotic places and wishing that was me and being jealous of them. What if could learn to stop brooding about the accolades and awards my peers at work are getting (and I’m not)?
But instead, what if I started envying my friends and their honesty, their works of charity, their work ethic, their spirituality, or their ability to make and keep friends?
I guess I’m asking, can I turn envy and jealousy into a asset? Skip the next paragraph if you’re not into long, boring stories.
Today, my youngest daughter will perform in Rodger’s and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. This whole thing (her being in the cast and trying out) is completely on her. She’s not yet 10 years old. We’re not stage parents. We’re not pushing her or making her sing in front of us and demanding better and better performances. Nope. A few months ago, she saw her older sister perform in the 7th and 8th Grade production of The Lion King and she said, “I want to do that.” So we researched some places who might be looking for kids to audition, we found Project Daydream, and our little 9-year-old prepared sheet music (on her own) and rehearsed an audition song (truly, mostly on her own) and amidst a group of teenagers all trying out, she walked in there (fearless) and just sang and got invited onto the cast.
That is true fearlessness. Never did, “I’m too young,” or, “I’ve never done this before,” enter her mind or come out of her mouth. She got it in her mind that she wanted to “do that”, and did it. In the meantime, she’s been coached on singing, she’s gotten two small solo lines in a song (not just the chorus), they asked her to be young-Cinderella (at the opening), and I think she has one or two other parts.
Fearless. She sees some people are better than her and have more experience. She sees others who are not. But each night she comes home from rehearsal full of joy, smiles, and a light of optimism and energy.
I covet that. I’m jealous of that.
Actually. I need to be like that. We all do.
Today, I’m going to make jealousy and envy an action item and a powerful force in my life, rather than destructive. How about you? Are you jealous I’m doing that? Don’t be. Do it with me.
Thanks for reading and thanks for attending my daughter’s performances today at 10:30 and tomorrow at 6:30. Information here.
Don Kowalewski 