Family members are presumed to be happy about your joy and cheer on your achievements. But not all the members have the ability to be supportive and proud of you. Jealousy comes easy to a few and there are some identifiable signs.
A jealous family member is never amazed at your achievements. They try to overlap your accomplishments with theirs, sometimes they will copy you in the attempt to outdo you, and sometimes they criticize your work but in a despising manner. A jealous family member will also likely avoid you out of jealousy or pick unnecessary fights.
As you read about the signs of jealous family members that I have mentioned in this article, you will easily be able to identify who in your family possibly envies you and your achievements.
5 Signs a Family Member Might Be Jealous of You
Having jealous family members is a common issue. But know this, it is not always easy to identify them, as some might be very subtle and secretive about it. It might be because they are good at hiding their true thoughts about you, or because they try not to let it ruin their relationship with you.
However, some will envy you so much that their treatment towards you will very well project the signs of jealousy. It will no longer be a secret. Here are some of the signs-
1. They Are Never Impressed About Your Achievements
Whenever you talk about something you have accomplished academically or in your career, they will try to dismiss it. The dismissal will be very stealthy- like they will mention those who have achieved greater, or how easy it is to achieve the particular thing.
For example, if you tell them that you were nominated for an award but did not win it, they will laugh at it subtly. They may even talk about those who have won, delicately talking about how being nominated is close to nothing. It does not have to be about an award, but you do get the idea right?
They might even try to overlap what they achieved in the same field in an attempt to make your achievement look ordinary and nothing exciting.
2. They Try to Copy and Outdo you
A jealous family member who is unhappy about you getting higher in rank will try to copy you and challenge themselves to outdo you. All the while trying to seem better at the particular thing you have achieved. For example, when you buy a branded accessory, they will want it too. Perhaps a more expensive one.
Someone jealous maybe does it all unintentionally without the knowledge that they are resentful of you. It will start through admiration of what you are doing and then end in the try to do it better for their satisfaction that they are better at it than you are.
3. They Criticise in a Despising Manner
Constructive criticism is good and often acceptable. But family members who get unhappy about you going places will find a flaw in your work. They will do it by putting you down or making you feel like you performed a job filled with flaws.
Their criticism will be of no use. The criticism will sound like a technique to mask their insecurities by picking out the negatives about you.
Firstly, if you did a good job, there is no criticism needed as the job is done. But they will say things that are not suggestions for sure, rather a critique of you entirely. If you have failed at a task, they will not advise you alternative ways that could have helped in scoring the task, they would rather belittle your ability to do it at all.
4. They Avoid You
You will see how they avoid you when you have experienced something positive in your life. It will bother them to watch your joy. If you run into them somewhere and let them know about the good news, they will very visibly seem upset, uncomfortable, or try to change the topic.
A positive turn in your life will put a jealous person in a cranky mood. To avoid unnecessary arguments or to avoid showing their true thoughts of you, they will skip family events.
Sometimes it is not because of their ill will. It is just that some people cannot control the lack of confidence or abhorrence they have for their own lives, for which others’ achievements make them upset.
5. Sometimes They Pick Unreasonable Fights with You
I mentioned in the previous point how a jealous family member is likely to have a cranky mood because you achieved something. If they fail to avoid you, running into you might result in unnecessary fights. You will not even understand from where the anger or argument has been generated. It will be a way for them to vent their frustrations but through petty issues.
The inability to directly express their resentment towards you getting higher in life, their bad mood will burst out. Even if you try to give them any suggestion or good advice, they will hate it as they feel you are acting out of pride in being a winner. They will doubt you through their made-up thoughts against your intentions, even in the good advice.
What are The Reasons Behind Their Jealousy?
Sometimes your attainments might make a family member upset, who has lower achievements in life. That is where jealousy emerges from. Some have control over it by trying to be supportive but some of them suffering from self-loathe or lack of confidence will end up being toxic about your happiness.
Your cousin might be jealous of you if his/her parents compare their accomplishments with yours too much. It creates natural hate towards you. They start to feel that they are failures and unwanted by their parents.
A relative who is behind at work, education, or maybe not married yet, will envy your happy marriage or a great career. It is generated through their insecurity and fear of being inferior. If you are in a relationship with someone who adores you and pampers you, and if they do not have someone like that in their life, it will thoroughly bother them that you have it all.
Your sibling could be jealous too! If your parents always ask them to look up to your great achievements in life while he/she is a slow or less intelligent child, they are likely to hate being your sibling. If you are an easy-going and understanding child, chances are, your parents will always be easy with you too, and if your sibling is the opposite, they will still despise you for it.
How to Deal with Jealous Family Members?
I have mentioned various reasons behind a family member’s jealousy towards you. But, do not get upset or be burdened about how someone feels about your gains. You can avoid informing them too much. Remember, sometimes it is not within the control of the person who becomes jealous. It just happens on its own.
Limit the circle you inform your good news with. That way you do not get the negative vibe, and no one becomes envious about it. Even if they try to argue and pick fights with you, keep a happy face on and move away. Ignore any unreasonable confrontations.
Create a respectful distance with them as jealousy makes people do terrible things and it is better to put a barrier in your interactions.
Conclusion
Even though it is common, it is still sad that a family member might also be jealous of the good you experience in life. If you want to keep a safe distance from those, I hope the signs of jealous family members that I have mentioned in this article can help you pick them out.
But do remember that jealousy is sometimes involuntary and a person who loves you can be jealous of you. In those cases, it is better to be understanding of their natural feelings and not be too paranoid about it.
