Success Envy

Freud was the one who coined the phrase penis envy, and opened up a whole world of penis jokes to a waiting world. The underlying basis of his theory is that everyone is obsessed with having a penis, in men it translates as wanting a larger penis, especially if they feel unsatisfied with what they have. It is also pretty relevant that Freud was a well documented cocaine user so his theories may sometimes need to be taken with a pinch of salt.

But heres the rub, I believe that there is some validity to old Sigmunds theory. Except I dont think it applies only to the anatomy. I think that each and every person out there has what I like to call "Success Envy". This is where men and women may hear about the successes of their friends, or relatives and then feel envious that their own careers/personal lives/marriages are not as good as their friends/coworkers/relatives.

Think about it readers, you know what I am talking about.

It happened to me just a few days ago. I was out during my lunch break and ended up meeting an old ex boyfriend in the street. A few short minutes later and I find that while I have been working hard plugging away at the office, he has been promoted and is now the head of his own department. I am sure he didnt mean to, but it almost felt like he was rubbing my nose in his success, I left the meeting feeling decidedly "Meh". (I should say I have not invented a word for this feeling, but in time I will).

The thing is I know that our jobs are widely different, he was in retail, I was in the financial sector. Still I could not help but feel taken aback and suddenly I looked at my own job and thought, why arent I more than what I am? Which is weird because in my own mind I know I am doing a really good job, but promotion has not been possible for me due to the current climate.

Thing is, is it just me? or is this a pretty common feeling with people? Feel free to comment guys would love to hear an opinion on this.