How to survive winter, part IV: Jealousy
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February in three words: Auditions. Snow. Results. Oh, and jealousy.
Whether you are auditioning for a music school, a summer program, or a professional opportunity (or all three!), many of these auditions take place in February, and the tension is ON. Even if you are not taking any auditions, February is a hard month to survive. It might feel like everyone is doing better than us (unless you ARE one of those lucky few, wink wink).
This is hard enough to go through thanks to social media. In addition to seeing who got in to where, we also see who got engaged and who’s eating the best food while tanning at a beautiful beach. It’s just a question of when the wave of jealousy will hit us.
Here are some tips that might help you to kick the jealousy away:
Focus on yourself. What’s exciting about your future? Instead of looking back, or lingering on the “what ifs”, think about how you can move forward in a positive way. Use this opportunity to create a better version of yourself: read more, visit cultural venues, eat healthy, work out more…and find new ways to empower yourself.
It’s OK to feel jealousy. Normalize it, acknowledge it and give it its space. Instead of pushing it away and getting upset about being jealous, embrace it.
Vent to a friend. Yep, it’s allowed and almost encouraged to have a huge venting session. Find a friend you trust (who might have also been rejected from a similar situation), open a bottle of wine, and let the venting session begin.
Distract yourself. Don’t let the jealously take over and try to occupy your mind with other things. One example is to have a list of friends and family who you should call more often. Start talking to others and shift the focus AWAY from yourself.
Meditate. Either actually try meditating, OR “meditate” on the situation in a broader sense. Use this feeling of jealousy as a learning experience. Learn more about yourself and your future goals.
Disappear from social media. While it won’t make other’s successes (or what you may think is a success) go away, they won’t be in your FACE.
Bring more good to the world. Do something nice to someone else. Buy someone coffee. Give a compliment. Jealousy is a pretty negative emotion so occupy your mind with something positive instead that will benefit others.