"If you are jealous of those who do well, do better."
The moral
Jealousy sees another's success as a theft. Emulation sees it as an invitation. The same energy can gnaw or build, depending on whether you turn it against the one who succeeds or toward your own work. Envying a talent takes it from no one; matching then surpassing it is the only response that changes anything.
About the author
Antoine Claude Gabriel Jobert
Origin of this quote
My perspective on this quote
José DA COSTA
For a long time I thought comparison was poison, until I understood it only is in one direction. Facing someone better than me, I get to choose between two reactions that spend exactly the same energy: to belittle them in my head, or to use them as proof that the bar can rise. The first drains me and moves me nowhere; the second gives me a direction. This line from Jobert turns on a tiny pivot: do not try to bring down the one who does well, try to do better than you did yesterday. When a peer ships work I wish I had signed, my first reflex is still sometimes bitterness, but I force myself to flip it: what did they grasp that I missed? What can I learn from them rather than resent? Jealousy, taken the other way around, becomes an excellent teacher. It shows me exactly where I want to grow, and all that is left is to get to work.