QuoteProject
Jealousy is an inner consciousness of one's own inferiority. It is a mental cancer.
B. C. Forbes
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Jealousy stems from personal insecurities and can be damaging to one's mental state.

This quote highlights how jealousy often arises from a person's own feelings of inadequacy or inferiority, suggesting that it is not the object of jealousy that is the problem, but rather the individual's perception of themselves. By referring to jealousy as a 'mental cancer', the quote emphasizes the toxic and destructive nature of these feelings, which can erode both personal happiness and relationships over time.

Themes

JealousyInferiorityMental HealthToxic EmotionsPersonal Growth

In practice

Example use cases

During a discussion about personal growth, one might quote this to illustrate how jealousy can hinder self-improvement.

More from B. C. Forbes

How you start is important, very important, but in the end it is how you finish that counts. It is easier to be a self-starter than a self-finisher. The victor in the race is not the one who dashes off swiftest but the one who leads at the finish. In the race for success, speed is less important than stamina. The sticker outlasts the sprinter in life's race. In America we breed many hares but not so many tortoises.
B. C. ForbesRead
I have known not a few men who, after reaching the summits of business success, found themselves miserable on attaining retirement age. They were so exclusively engrossed in their day to day affairs that they had no time for friend making.
B. C. ForbesRead
He is a wise man who seeks by every legitimate means to make all the money he can honestly, for money can do so many worthwhile things in this world, not merely for one's self but for others. But he is an unmitigated fool who imagines for a moment that it is more important to make the money than to make it honestly. One of the advantages of possessing money is that it facilitates one's independence and mental attitude. The man head over heels in debt is more slave than independent.
B. C. ForbesRead
Christmas is a tonic for our souls. It moves us to think of others rather than of ourselves. It directs our thoughts to giving.
B. C. ForbesRead
Opportunity rarely knocks on your door. Knock rather on opportunity's door if you ardently wish to enter.
B. C. ForbesRead
If you don't drive your business, you will be driven out of business.
B. C. ForbesRead

Similar quotes

The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity.
Leo TolstoyRead
Perhaps this war will pass like the others which divided us leaving us dead, killing us along with the killers but the shame of this time puts its burning fingers to our faces. Who will erase the ruthlessness hidden in innocent blood?
Pablo NerudaRead
Liberty of thought is the life of the soul.
VoltaireRead
Every nation ridicules other nations, and all are right.
Arthur SchopenhauerRead
I wanted to invent myself as a fictional character. And I did, and it has caused a great deal of confusion.
Jeanette WintersonRead
I agree to, or rather aspire to, my doom.
Pierre CorneilleRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.