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LIVING MIAMI LIVING 37 In life we are given so much power. We are given the power to live it any way we choose. This is our free will. What will we choose? Will we choose family over fame, loyalty over disrespect? Will we let our ego take control and pull us into a downward spiral? Do we desperately need to compare ourselves to others until we lose ourselves in the process? What is your breaking point? The path of each individual is immensely a genuinely driven journey in order for certain experiences to surface, such as a wide range of feelings, challenges, and decision making skills. What are your priorities? When it comes to jealousy, some people relate to it more than others. Why is that? Why do some people get so caught up with other people's lives to the point where they stop being best friends, or even compromise their own familial relationships? The answer to that is simple; we experience jealousy as a powerful opportunity to grow from it. Pay attention to your feelings and listen to them with the utmost respect and decency, without driving them away mercilessly. How does jealousy work? When we are so unhappy with ourselves we begin to focus on other people. Maybe you begin to avoid certain people or family members in your life. Avoidance means you are afraid of losing your self-respect; it is all about your self-esteem and confidence as a person. As this fear grows, your jealousy increases, and your insecurity rises, in a sort of correlation situation. It is all about YOU. You do not want to face your feelings, so it is easier to just walk away from them, from your family, from yourself. But you can never escape yourself. It will torture you until you go inside your soul and figure out why you are feeling like this. If you let jealousy thrive, you will begin to feel a whole plethora of emotions. Remember, these emotions really build up your ego, confusing you to the point where you might become an unrecognizable person with rage or anger inside of you. Before going completely crazy, you can work to fix this horrific cycle. If you really want to deal with this jealousy issue, you must first recognize that you indeed have this problem. Many of us do not want to admit that we are broken, sad, or just plain hurt. We do not want to show our true colors because we are scared we will never get our ego back. This is a fine and natural feeling. It is denial, but it can be overcome. Simply look inside yourself more and be open to everything that you are feeling. Accept all of you as you are, and all that you are is perfect. As soon as you fully recognize that you have this jealousy within you, here are the four steps to take to help you overcome it, awaken your soul, and become whole. 1. The moment you feel jealous of someone, stay with that feeling for a while. Let it motivate you to dig a little deeper, letting that emotion wash over you. You need to see why you feel this particular way. This is the first step of your transformation. Our minds are psychologically unique. They carry things from childhood and twist them up to confuse us as we get older. If we are strong and wise enough to let go of all the childhood insecurities, we will then be able to grow more spiritually, becoming more complete. Speak about your feelings, really process them, as that is the only thing that can and will drive out jealousy in the long run. Share those feelings with the person you are jealous of, if they are your close family, or if you feel that you are not ready yet for that honest truth, talk to your close friends. Be present with all of this, as hard as it may be. It is cathartically healing, and will bring you a sense of warmth and light within the process. Emotions are welcome; you may cry, yell, or act in anyway temporarily to get you to break down the shields that you fought so hard to build over the years. You were trying to protect yourself with those shields, only to learn that they were actually just encouraging you to avoid your life. 2. Let go of the ego that always wants to be superior and correct. Have you ever felt that you simply cannot apologize to the people you love when you hurt them? Do you do it often? Saying sorry is a powerful statement. All it means is that you fully acknowledge that what you said was hurtful and you care about the person you hurt. That is it! There is no transfer of power here. Nobody becomes weaker by any means. It actually makes you stronger (the apologizer), as it truly enhances your spiritual growth because you came to the realization that by saying sorry you release any tension within yourself. This is a self realization process that is all about YOU. Are you ready to let go of that ego that makes you feel jealous? It is the ego's perception that wants to keep believing that someone somewhere has something better than you have, which is never the case. Learn to be happy and fulfilled with your life, your journey, your body, yourself. 3. Being jealous is a divine message for you to decode about your life's path. Your feelings are a gift for you to uncover and expose what they truly mean. Take these jealous feelings and think about what you can learn from them. Are you ok with losing the closest relationships in your life over ego, letting it rule you, isolate you, and separate you from the people you love dearly? Reflect on what makes it difficult to discuss your feelings. Why are you jealous of this person (success, beauty, confidence, respect, brightness)? Figure it out for your benefit, so that you can uncover what it is about yourself that you are not happy with. We get jealous over what we feel empty about inside. What do you want to create in your own life to make you a happier person? Ask some questions. Does this jealous feeling stop you from doing something that you love? Let that go. 4. The final step is to ask what YOU can do to be the best version of yourself within your relationship with this person. Take a step back to really figure out how to be fully supportive of this person. Allow yourself to fully shine through your feelings in such a positive light that it lifts your spirits. Stand up for your love, your truth, and your priorities. Once you choose these actions, you will never be pulled down by jealousy or the anger accompanied by it. So now you can reflect, journal your feelings again, and explore honestly what you are prepared to take action on, in order to get back on track with your own life as well as with the closest people in your life. It is all in your hands. You have the divine right to find your way back to your whole self. What is your whole self you ask? It is your internal joy, your home, your heart, your family, it is all you. ML Get the Green-eyed Monster off Your Back How to live without Jealousy Words by Levita Galinsky Levita Galinsky: As an avid health and wellness blogger, a professional ballet dancer (trained at the School of American Ballet at Lincoln Center), and a Psychology graduate, I aim to help people live life with a positive mindset and a balanced healthy spiritual lifestyle. Come follow my blog http://healthandwellnesswithlevi.blogspot.com/ where I give weekly tips on how to live a healthy balanced lifestyle. If you have any specific questions feel free to contact me personally on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nourishnine and Instagram @levitagal