Envy is one of the seven deadly sins. That gives you some idea of the destructive and difficult a problem it is. Envy can be differentiated from greed and jealousy. Jealousy is a curious mixture of desire and insecurity that usually is found in love relationships. Greed involves strong desire to accumulate material possessions. Envy is a condition where one strongly desires and tries to acquire things or relationships that another has. The goal of envy is not only to get it for ourselves, but also to deprive whoever has it of the right to keep it. So, envy involves not only the strong craving for something or someone, but also hatred of the person who currently has it. 
So, let’s be clear here. When I use the term “envy,” I am talking about the real deal, a malicious state of mind that borders on the criminal mind in many ways. I’m NOT talking about envy in the common usage sense at all.  I’m not talking about the kind of feelings we have when we see a person with a new car and say, “boy, I really envy you for having that new car.”

So, is envy a problem for people trying to do transformations? Rarely, but it does occur. I have seen it under circumstances where someone was trying to restore a broken relationship  after they were rejected for their physical problems or inadequacies. The transformation attempt began with a goal to get the other person’s affection  back, but realization that it wasn’t going to happen degenerated into envy that ended up being a really lousy motive to finish up the transformation. Last I knew the person was thinking of writing a book about how badly they had been treated. Boy, there’s one that everyone will be dying to read—NOT!

The most tragic circumstances under which I have seen envy rear its ugly head were on the Body for Life Tracker site a while back. To rehash the details of what was done to a few competitors by some members of the site who were eventually banned would be to dredge up the muck and risk opening old wounds. It was ugly, and it was completely destructive both in intent and in its impact. The saddest thing of all was that everyone was devastated. The transformers who were hurt, and libeled by the malicious efforts of a small group of people actually left the Tracker for some time, and still have difficulty trusting. The small group of envious folks who pulled this vicious stunt were permanently banned from the Tracker site, and have essentially left the transformation community. Even those who were not picked on and did not participate in the attack were frustrated, and many of them left the Tracker website simply because it had gotten too rough to be worth the while. To the great credit of the site administrator, he stepped in strongly and cast some new rules which have made that site a growing and excellent one.

Here’s the trouble with envy. It never is satisfied, and it always destroys, both the person against whom it is directed and the person who is the victim.

What is the “cure” for envy? It’s a character defect in my opinion, which means that it is quite unlikely to ever go away. The best “cure” for the rest of us is to avoid envious persons at all costs. To try to deal with them is to risk total destruction.

One last thing. When you did a terrific transformation, and you really thought you had a shot at winning and didn’t, you felt some really tough emotions, didn’t you? That was NOT envy. That was disappointment, which is a natural occurrence, and it is a normal and temporary setback, which comes whenever someone who competed intensely does not end up successful. It will go away, and you will live.