Rejoicing in the good fortune of others will improve your relationships and bring more happiness into your life. There are some major benefits to sharing in the joy of others, and here are ways that you can adopt this powerful way of thinking.
Benefits of Rejoicing in the Good Fortune of Others:
1. Dispel your anxieties. Viewing the world as a zero sum game where another person’s win is your loss is bound to cause tension. Thinking in terms of abundance will ease your anxieties and help you enjoy more peace of mind.
2. Liberate yourself from jealousy and envy. Jealousy and envy are unpleasant emotions and can sabotage relationships that you value. When you share in their joy, you eliminate envy!
3. Find more reasons to celebrate. If you enjoy the opportunity to celebrate when you have good news of your own, you can multiply those good times. Seize every opportunity to cheer for the success of others as well as the events in your own life.
4. Increase your personal happiness. You create the causes for your own happiness by the way you think. Recognizing the positive things in life will increase your happiness. It will also make your good feelings more stable than the temporary pleasures of any single individual.
5. Strengthen your relationships. People are more likely to respond positively to you if they sense that you’re truly happy for them. Also, there’s a reason why marriage vows typically specify for better and for worse. Healthy relationships involve sharing both ups and downs.
6. Pay it forward. Paying it forward is an enduring concept because it works. Giving unselfishly enriches us all regardless of the beneficiary.
How to Rejoice in the Good Fortune of Others:
1. Focus on others rather than yourself. It’s easy to get caught up in your own struggles. Be sure to keep in touch with what’s going on in the lives of the people around you. Others may be bashful about mentioning their own victories but still appreciate having their efforts recognized.
2. Examine the consequences of jealousy and envy. Be honest with yourself when you notice any jealous tendencies. The more clearly you see them, the more motivated you will be to put them aside.
3. Contemplate the good things in your own life. It can be difficult to feel good for other people while you’re feeling deprived. Remind yourself of all the wonderful things you have to be grateful for.
4. Embrace artificial steps if necessary. It’s okay to use some artificial gestures to get started. Even if you’re not purely happy that your ex-husband got an award, you can say something gracious and imagine how good it would feel to have no reservations about congratulating him.
5. Start with the people you love. Getting instantly excited about the lives of strangers may be beyond your grasp at the present time. However, you can focus on the people you love. For example, for most parents, it’s natural to feel great enthusiasm about every developmental milestone in their child’s life.
6. Work your way up to dealing with things you wanted for yourself and people who you find difficult. With practice, you’ll be able to tackle the more sensitive issues. When you find the techniques that work with the people you love, you can use those same strategies during more challenging circumstances.
Rejoicing in the good fortune of others is an accurate and constructive way of looking at the world. Welcome more joy into your own life and strengthen your relationships by taking delight in the well-being of others.
