“Someone will always be getting richer faster than you. This is not a tragedy. The idea of caring that someone is making money faster than you is one of the deadly sins. Envy is a really stupid sin because it’s the only one you could never possibly have fun at. There’s a lot of pain and no fun. Why would you want to get on that trolley?” – Charlie Munger
Envy in Investing
Envy is defined as “a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else’s possessions, qualities, or luck.” Regarding the Charlie Munger quote above, in investing, it’s easy to look at the success of others and think, “why not me?” However, that reaction can cause people to take unnecessary risk and engage in uneducated, reckless speculation with their money, potentially with ruinous consequences. While competition is certainly good and is overall a positive force, competition driven purely by envy is a net negative. In investing, we are only competing with ourselves and need to be satisfied with our own progress independent of comparing ourselves to others. If you’re making a return that puts you on track to meet your goals, that’s a job well done. Focus on your own financial goals and risk tolerances, so that you can develop an appropriate investment strategy. Don’t let envy (or FOMO – ‘fear of missing out’) cause you to make rash and emotional decisions that you wouldn’t ordinarily make.
The Inner Scorecard
Warren Buffett often refers to the concept of using an “inner scorecard” to evaluate your success based on your own standards, as opposed to seeking external validation through approval and comparison with others. Buffett uses his inner scorecard to stay true to his core principles, maintain integrity, maintain personal relationships, adhere to fundamental risk management, focus on learning and long-term thinking, and define his overall concept of success.
These days, the problem of envy is exacerbated by social media, where everyone presents their best side, showcasing their successes, but rarely highlighting negative aspects of their lives. You can be sure that everyone’s life is not as glamorous and tidy as they portray on Facebook and Instagram. Apart from the investment context, spending your time envious, angry, or jealous is simply wasted energy and fosters feelings of inadequacy. Be happy for others and use them as inspiration, but stop comparing yourself to them or deriding their successes. Envy leads to many negative consequences such as anxiety, stress, strained relationships, poor decision-making, pessimism and resentment, social isolation, and physical health issues. If brought about by envy, all of these are preventable. Envy is wasted time you should use instead for personal growth and working towards your goals.
Mimetic Desire
In his book, “Conspiracy: A True Story of Power, Sex, and a Billionaire’s Secret Plot to Destroy a Media Empire,” author Ryan Holiday states, “René Girard’s theory of mimetic desire holds that people have no idea what they want, or what they value, so they are drawn to what other people want. They want what other people have. They covet. It’s this, Girard says, that is the source of almost all the conflict in the world.”
The Antidotes
It’s difficult to reason away envy in the moment, so you should aspire to starve it at the source. Three practices help:
- Define your “enough.” Envy thrives on moving goalposts. Decide in advance what a successful outcome looks like for you such as the return you need or the life you want. A goal with a finish line leaves envy nowhere to run.
- Judge by the inner scorecard. Measure yourself against your own principles and progress, not against someone else’s highlight reel. The question is never “am I winning compared to them?” but “am I living up to my own standards?”
- Curate your inputs. You can’t stop the world from flaunting, but you can choose how much of it you consume. Unfollow the accounts that reliably make you feel behind. Attention is the soil envy grows in, so stop watering it.
Munger bluntly stated that envy is the one sin with no fun in it, as it’s all pain and no pleasure. So when you feel the trolley pulling up, remember that boarding is optional. Define your enough, keep your own score, and let other people’s fortunes be what they are: none of your business, and no measure of your own.
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