#853 Mudita: The Antidote to Envy

How to Cure Your Soul Ulcer

In our last +1, we chatted about the fact that ancient lovers of wisdom and modern scientists agree: Envy is toxic.

As Socrates so poetically put it: “Envy is the ulcer of the soul.

I suggested an antidote: CELEBRATE other people’s successes. (And, I encouraged swapping out Social Media (screen) time with some Soul Media (no screen!) time.)

Today we’re going to talk about some more wisdom from Paul Jarvis’s great book Company of One (aka, as I like think of the basic idea: Business Minimalism).

Paul tells us: “In an ancient language from India called Pali, there’s a term, ‘mudita,’ which seems like the opposite of envy, because it means ‘to delight in the good fortunes or the accomplishments of others.’ (Interestingly, it has no counterpart in English.)

He continues: “Outside of altruism, mudita is useful in business: we can be pleased that people like Musk or Oprah exist and thrive, while at the same time not letting their prolifically growing empires affect what we do or how we see our own businesses. We can be open to the insight others have their own business successes but are not the sole factor in steering our own.

Mudita.

“To delight in the good fortunes or the accomplishments of others.”

Love it.

Note: Modern science agrees with that as well, btw. As we’ve discussed, Barbara Fredrickson calls it “Celebratory Love.”

That’s Today’s +1.

Feeling any envy?

How can you add a drop of celebratory mudita love tonic to the mix?!

Let’s heal our soul ulcers.

Today.

One drop of delight in the good fortunes of others at a time.

+1. +1. +1.

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