Why jealousy can be a good thing

(Image belongs to me.)

Jealousy, envy; whichever word you prefer has always been given an extremely negative connotation, regardless of who or what it was directed towards. "Jealousy is only an emotion of the weak", Jealousy gets you nowhere, and for the most part; I agree. Jealousy is a petty emotion that has more bad than good attached to it. However I think that in the circumstance such as self betterment, and in elevating to a higher level, jealousy can sometimes be a GOOD THING. Just speaking on my personal experiences, whenever Ive felt deeply envious of someone, instead of just hating on the person and their success, jealousy only motivated me into working even harder to achieve the things I wanted, and elevating to the level of success I was satisfied with. I think that's the main issue, and solution. If we can instead redirect out feelings of jealousy, and channel them into a drive, and motivational force that we can in turn use to create positive change in our lives. No matter how petty, its a human emotional, and it's here to stay; whether we like it or not. As they say, work until your idols become your rivals.