Summarize the following:
Consider what sets you off and causes you to hunger for what other people have or the way that someone else is. Research has found that often envy results from comparisons to others who are of similar background, ability, and achievements in relative or important areas of one's life.  For example, you may compare yourself to a coworker who is of the same status and gender as yourself. The pain of envy is a result of seeing yourself surpassed by another’s ability, especially in an area of life that is a deep part of your self-concept by which being surpassed is seen as a threat to your concept of who you are.  Some other examples are:  You feel insecure when someone else appears more intelligent, funnier, more entertaining, happier or more glamorous than you consider yourself. You cannot help but continuously compare yourself to the other person, either personality-wise or by yearning for the same opportunities they appear to have. You feel deprived and wish for the same property and possessions as someone else. You consider that your life is pale by comparison and somewhat impoverished. You feel miserable because you think that other people have what you don't. Ask yourself what your values are, what your needs are, and what your worldview consists of. Get to the essence of what is really important to you. These things make up your core self-concept. Begin to pull apart the things that are not who you are at your core, and that are causing you to be envious.  It is important to understand that people often extend their boundaries of their self-concept to include things that are not necessarily apart of who they are at their core. When these extension areas are threatened, the person often experiences defensiveness, hostility, or envy.  Examine if you have extended your boundaries of your self-concept to include other areas such as work, friendships, abilities, or status. Begin to make a distinction between who you are at your core (your values, your needs, your worldview, and your purpose) and what you possess in belongings, personal traits, work success, and identities in your social groups. For example, say you give a presentation at work, and you interpret criticisms of the presentation as a personal attack. This means that you have extended your self-concept to include your work. In fact, however, you are not your work, and it is not a part of who you are at your core. Your work is simply something you do. Yes, it is part of your life experience, but it is not who you are as a person, and it is not your personality trait. In another example, you may be envious of a friend in your social group who is similar to yourself. Perhaps you are usually the entertainer in the group or the one making others laugh. When this friend’s talent for making others laugh surpasses your own, you may see this as a threat to your self-concept. In actuality, you are not your ability to entertain others. Who you are at your core is much more than this one trait. These types of scenarios are more common for those who suffer from low self-esteem. This is because their evaluations of themselves are lower than how they evaluate those around them, thus producing feelings of envy. Envy is a complicated emotion that has many facets and can take many forms. Research has found that envy can be social in nature when one perceives that he or she is being left out of the group or left behind because they are being outperformed by another in the group.  Studies have found that some types of envy, termed “envy proper”, contain feelings of hostility, whereas others forms of envy, termed “benign envy”, do not include feelings of hostility.  In addition, researchers make a distinction between envy and jealousy, noting the envy is a feeling of inferiority when compared to another, whereas jealousy involves three persons and stems from being afraid of losing a relationship with one person to another.
Identify what sparks your envy. Write down your values, needs and worldview. Recognize if you’re extending the boundaries of your core self-concept. Recognize some of the characteristics of envy.