I’m A Hater…And Maybe You Are Too?

I’m a work in progress.

An author-friend published her book recently, and it’s going well for her. I liked it. The reviews are trickling in, and they’re great.

I’m happy for her. Really, I am. My empathic sensibilities feel every win or loss, especially for the people I care about. I just don’t know what to do with this small pang of jealousy that surfaces every time I foolishly check on her book’s progress.

I know where it comes from — feelings of my own inadequacies. We write in the same niche, my reviews are generally better than hers, yet she outsells me almost 2 to 1. She might be doing something different, but it doesn’t matter.

Can you truly be happy for someone and jealous at the same time? And is it okay to admit that I really just want the ‘good thing’ to be happening to me as well?