>>The key is realizing you need very little to be truly happy.
Although I agree with you in principle. But so as long as we have feelings, comparison and desires to match someone else is inevitable. I've tried a lot, but I keep ending up with...
Why can't I have a car like him.
Why can't I have a home like his.
Why can't go on a costly vacation like him.
...
Why can't I have <insert anything> like him.
I have a wife and 2 little girls. We have a house, 2 cars, and a motorcycle. All of our vehicles are paid for and we have no revolving credit.
I am HAPPY. Poor, yet HAPPY.
The secret is that I stopped thinking: "Why can't I have a car like him?" Instead, I started thinking, "It must suck to work as much as he does," or "I'm glad I don't have debt like him!"
I have everything I need and quite a few things that I want. I have money in the bank to buy just about anything I'd like to own, within reason. I did not achieve financial freedom on what is considered poverty level salary by desiring new fancy things.
It took me 4 years of credit counseling and BARELY making it buy each month to realize all of this. It was not an easy lesson. But now, I have friends making over $200k that are envious of me.
I'm not right or wrong. My method isn't better than acquiring awesome stuff with tons of money. I have found that time with my family is more valuable than money.
You definitely shouldn't confuse "I haven't yet figured out how to change X" with "X is inevitable".
Three things that weaken those feelings of envy for me:
One is treating them as something my brain does. Sort of like one does with a transient ringing in one's ears or a twitchy muscle or a mild cold. I think, "Oh, that thing again," and wait for it to pass.
The second is appreciating what I have more. If you focus all the time on what you don't have, it's easy to miss all the things you do have.
The third is better understanding others. Spend some time really looking at the people you think you envy. Rich people are often miserable bastards. Even the ones who aren't miserable have made sacrifices I'm not interested in making, or are fundamentally handicapped in a way that I'm glad not to be. Nothing comes without a price.
If these questions persist within you then act in accordance with fulfilling them - figure out how you get those things, treat it like a game. But don't make your happiness contingent on them and think twice before sacrificing the present for the future. There are plenty of people with wealth who are never satisfied and would base their happiness on the 'thing they don't have' (car, house, yacht, plane etc). It places happiness artificially always out of reach - which is a shame. We all get one ride on the rock.
It's not about the money, and it's not about "him." You feel bad about yourself. Part of you wants to be unhappy. This likely has a lot more to do with conflicts from your childhood than some new philosophical puzzle presented by late capitalism. If you want to feel better, talk to someone.
Although I agree with you in principle. But so as long as we have feelings, comparison and desires to match someone else is inevitable. I've tried a lot, but I keep ending up with...
And that never goes away...