Jealousy is one habit I don't like observing, especially from my close friends, but yet, it usually enters a friendship quietly. Sometimes it won't announce itself, but when you start connecting the dots, you will begin to notice it.
Have I ever had a jealous friend? Of course I do. Someone I considered my close pal, I never held back my information from her. Someday she startef acting unusual, and it was obvious she wasn't genuinely happy about the positive changes in my life.
At first I thought I was only overthinking it until it was clear in my eyes. I noticed the change in excitement whenever I shared my good news with her, especially since she was the type that usually celebrated my little wins, but this time around, she was always cold and moody about it and would just reluctantly respond, "Nice."
Again, I started noticing comparison at some point. Everything about her became a competition. Once she sees that I bought an item, she rushes to the market and buys the same thing. The other day I told her what I achieved; she reminded me of her past achievement too. I also noticed that she was always more energetic whenever I shared my negative setbacks, and boom, she became a motivator; she was just happier in my low seadon .
I became confused about her and got uneasy. I didn't know what we were actually competing for and weren't there for one another But then, if I should be honest, then I will tell you that I have also learned that not every strange behavior is jealousy. Sometimes, people are just dealing with a lot within but, bottled them all. This made me not always label someone jealous because he or she didn't act as I expected; it's all about wisdom.
However, real jealousy, like the one I noticed from my friend, required action to deal with it. I became more conscious of what I do or say and how she reacts to things. I reduced the amount of info about me that I shared with her and gave her some distance. These steps revealed a lot after a few weeks, and to be honest, that friendship didn't survive the test of time. 😊
image was created using chatgpt