Reality check. As much as we would all love to be completely selfless and really be happy for someone else’s success, we aren’t. Most of us get jealous. Most of us envy. Most of us can show an outward happy face and continue to think “why not me?”.

It’s okay. It’s human. We all do this. And then we feel bad for feeling that way. We should feel just happiness for those we love, shouldn’t we? Then, why do we do this?

We are programmed for survival of the fittest. We are competitive. We want to win. And when we don’t, we feel bad for ourselves and that infringes on our happiness for someone else.

So how do we get past it?

It requires changing the way you react to things, the way you think about things. You might have to review your initial reaction and really try to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. You might have to fake it until the reaction is real. The last thing you would want is for someone to bring you down when you’re on top of the world. So why would you want to do that to someone else?

And it really means something to others when you show happiness for their accomplishments. Even if its hard to see, you, as a friend, significant other, family, helped in this achievement by supporting them through their path. Know this. It will help. 

And when we can truly be happy for someone else, we have achieved something great as well.