There are some emotions that wind us up so quietly …and some that burn us up alive.
Regret and jealousy fall into both categories depending on the day, the moment, or the trigger.
Alone, each can undo you in ways you don’t even notice until you’re already unraveling.
Think Great Aunt Mabel’s hand-knit afghan.
But when they collide, boy when they collide, when regrets stirs the past and jealousy poisons
the present you’ve got a mixture that’s a deadly cocktail.
For today’s purpose let’s just call it a “Killer Colada.”
It follows you into rooms where no one else can see it. It visits at night when you can’t sleep because you’re continuously replaying “the reel” of choices you wish you could undo.
Regret doesn’t care how much you’ve grown, how much you’ve healed, or how much you’ve overcome.
It only wants to remind you of what could have been yours had you just been a little braver, stronger, smarter, quicker, softer, or louder.
And while you’re busy ruminating over yesterday, regret steals your capacity to build something better for tomorrow.
But its whispers don’t tell you that usually the same lesson would have needed to be learned, no matter what the outcome or choices.
The firestorm of jealousy, on the other hand, doesn’t look back.
No, it’s too savvy for that …
Way too savvy.
It looks sideways. It watches what others have while convincing you without a shadow of a
doubt that you’re missing out.
Or as my kids would say, FOMO.
It sharpens your vision of what others have gained, what they’ve achieved, who loves them more, and who notices them more.
And it turns a blind eye to what is already within your own hands.
Jealousy is never satisfied … it can’t be, because no matter how much you accumulate, it will always show you the one thing someone else has that you don’t. It will rob you of your joy. It will rob you of your own milestones, whispering that they aren’t big enough, aren’t shiny enough, aren’t enviable enough.
It leaves you starving in a garden full of food because you’re too busy
eyeing the neighbor’s harvest.
Regret whispers “you missed your chance” but jealousy rubs it in by pointing to someone else
who has seized theirs.
It’s not just pain any more.
It’s a war inside your head.
A constant reminder that you not only failed in the past, but you’re falling behind in the
present.
That combination doesn’t just hurt, it corrodes. It leaves you bitter, resentful, and oftentimes paralyzed. You don’t just mourn what you lost … you begin to resent what others have gained.
Regret tells you the past could have been perfect if only you had made one different choice.
But that’s an illusion, because there is no perfect path.
Every road has its own shadows … and when jealousy whispers in your ear that someone
else’s life is brighter, easier, happier than yours…
It’s just an illusion.
You see their highlight reel, but not all of their hidden battles.
Life is messy. It’s complicated and it’s full of mistakes. But it’s from these mistakes that we learn, grow and develop different techniques to improve our skills for a new tomorrow.
People may like to watch the stumble with popcorn in hand- voyeurs of your downfall.
But what really captures hearts is the rebound, the reinvention, the glow-up from ashes.
Because it’s never too late to rewrite the story, never too late to turn wreckage into momentum. Everyone loves a comeback that reminds them they can rise, too.
So one might ask, what’s the anecdote to this deadly cocktail?
First, begin with forgiveness.
Start with yourself, realizing that you made choices with all the wisdom and courage you had at the time.
Follow it up by having gratitude.
Train your eyes to see what’s already yours. This allows you to have peace in the present while
moving forward.
Finally, create a vision.
A map of goals and intentions so bold that they silence yesterday’s mistakes.
And finally … choose to put the glass down.
The deadliest of all cocktails only has power if you keep drinking from the glass.
The reward is freedom to live in the present, freedom to love your own path, and freedom to build something beautiful without the bitter taste and half the calories.
The truth is, life is short enough without drinking from cups that hollow us out.
Put the glass down and pick up peace instead.
Tomorrow isn’t promised, but the impact of what you do today will echo forever.
That’s my Reveal for the week.
Love,
Karin
