What do we lose by another’s good fortune?
Let us celebrate with them,
or strive to emulate them.
That should be our desire and determination.
Learning to rejoice in the good fortune of others will improve your relationships and bring a great deal of happiness into your life. There are some major benefits that you can reap by sharing in the joy of others.
1. Dispel your anxieties. Viewing the world as a zero sum game where another person’s win is your loss is a certain recipe for tension and anxiety. Thinking in terms of abundance will ease some of your anxieties and help you enjoy more peace of mind.
2. Liberate yourself from jealousy and envy. Jealousy and envy are unpleasant emotions that will sabotage any relationships you value. When you share in the joy of another, you help to bypass envy!
3. Seize every opportunity to cheer for the success of others as well as the events in your own life. This will boost your own sense of happiness, unless of course you do not enjoy celebrations.
4. Increase your personal happiness. You help to create the causes for your own happiness by the way you think and choose to react. Recognizing the positive things in life will increase your happiness. It will also make your good feelings more stable and easily accessible.
5. Strengthen your relationships. People are more likely to respond positively to you if they sense that you are genuinely happy for them. Healthy relationships involve sharing both ups and downs.
6. Pay it forward. Paying it forward is an enduring concept because it works so well. Giving unselfishly to others enriches everyone regardless of the primary beneficiary.
How?
1. Focus on others rather than yourself. It is all too easy to get caught up in your own struggles. Be sure that you keep in touch with what is going on in the lives of the people around you. Other people may be bashful about mentioning their own victories, but they still appreciate having their efforts recognized.
2. Examine the consequences of your jealousy and envy. Be honest with yourself when you notice any jealous tendencies. The more clearly you can see them, the more motivated you will be to root them out.
3. Think about the good things in your life. It can be difficult to feel good for other people while you are busy feeling deprived or short-changed. Remind yourself of all of the wonderful things you have to be grateful for.
4. Fake it in the beginning, if you must. It is okay to use some artificial gestures to get started. Even if you are not 100% joy-filled that your ex got an award, you can still say something gracious. And just imagine how good it would feel to have no reservations about congratulating them.
5. Start with the people you love and care the most about. Getting instantly excited about the lives of strangers may be beyond your grasp at the present time. But, you can focus on the people you love.
6. Work your way up to dealing with things you wanted for yourself and people who you find difficult to deal with. With some practice and perseverance, you will be able to tackle the more sensitive issues. When you find the techniques that work well with the people you care about, then you can use some of those same strategies during more challenging circumstances.
Rejoicing in the good fortune of others is an accurate and constructive way of looking at the world. Welcome more joy into your life and strengthen your relationships by taking delight in the well-being of others.
Thoughts?