--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Envy: a confused, tangled guide to one's…" description: "\"Envy: a confused, tangled guide to one's own ambitions.\" — Alain de Botton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cc/alain-de-botton-221_ambition_envy-a-confused-tangled-guide-to-one-s-o_1543514.jpg" --- # Envy: a confused, tangled guide to one's own ambitions. ![“Envy: a confused, tangled guide to one's own ambitions.” quote by Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cc/alain-de-botton-221_ambition_envy-a-confused-tangled-guide-to-one-s-o_1543514.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cc/alain-de-botton-221_ambition_envy-a-confused-tangled-guide-to-one-s-o_1543514.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cc/alain-de-botton-221_ambition_envy-a-confused-tangled-guide-to-one-s-o_1543514.jpg) > “Envy: a confused, tangled guide to one's own ambitions.” [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Envy is a tangled emotional response that reveals hidden desires and can mislead ambition if not examined critically. **In simple terms:** Envy shows hidden wishes. Key Takeaway Reflect on envy’s source. Themes envy ambition self‑awareness psychology motivation Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical self‑reflective When to use this quote - career planning - creative projects - relationship dynamics - personal growth Key Concepts existential philosophy emotional intelligence self‑development Questions to Reflect On - What unmet desire fuels your envy? - How can you transform envy into constructive action? A Different Perspective Envy can also motivate positive change when channeled constructively. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Ambitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambitions/) [Envy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envy/) [Motivation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motivation/) ## Related quotes > [A simple problem of arithmetic: there are far more ambitions than there are grand destinies available.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/a-simple-problem-of-arithmetic-there-are-far-more-ambitions-than/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Let's make sure our ideas of success are our own, that we are truly the authors of our own ambitions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/let-s-make-sure-our-ideas-of-success-are-our-own-that-we-are-truly/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Being put in our place by something larger, older, greater than ourselves is not a humiliation; it should be accepted as a relief from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/being-put-in-our-place-by-something-larger-older-greater-than/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Shut your eyes, wait, think of nothing. Now, open them ... one sees nothing but a great coloured undulation. What then? An irradiation and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-cezanne/shut-your-eyes-wait-think-of-nothing-now-open-them-one-sees-nothing/) [Paul Cezanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-cezanne/) > ['Come hither, my boy, tell me what thou seest there?' 'A fool tangled in a religious snare.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/come-hither-my-boy-tell-me-what-thou-seest-there-a-fool-tangled-in-a/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [We look at life from the back side of the tapestry. And most of the time, what we see is loose threads, tangled knots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-piper/we-look-at-life-from-the-back-side-of-the-tapestry-and-most-of-the/) [John Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-piper/) > [“What this requires of us is that we don’t get tangled up in the living, even when we in fact feel woefully tangled up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/what-this-requires-of-us-is-that-we-don-t-get-tangled-up-in-the/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [As technology has improved, our digital lives have only grown more tangled and cluttered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-holmes/as-technology-has-improved-our-digital-lives-have-only-grown-more/) [Ryan Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-holmes/) > [I always had short hair, and I hated my short hair. I was always mistaken for a boy, but my mom wouldn't let me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-hamill/i-always-had-short-hair-and-i-hated-my-short-hair-i-was-always/) [Dorothy Hamill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-hamill/) > [“Build a tangled bank.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-johnson/build-a-tangled-bank/) [Steven Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-johnson/) > [I always thought it would be a simple matter to lie wi' a woman, he said softly. And yet... I want to fall on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-gabaldon/i-always-thought-it-would-be-a-simple-matter-to-lie-wi-a-woman-he/) [Diana Gabaldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-gabaldon/) > [The intimate and the infinite are tangled together in this incandescent book, lit by Aristotle’s bright spark of a daughter. Lucid even in nightmare,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-endicott/the-intimate-and-the-infinite-are-tangled-together-in-this/) [Marina Endicott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-endicott/) > [I've learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he/she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/i-ve-learned-that-you-can-tell-a-lot-about-a-person-by-the-way-he-she/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Your hair is a tangled mess,"he said, thinking he liked it that way, like a lion's mane.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-harrison/your-hair-is-a-tangled-mess-he-said-thinking-he-liked-it-that-way/) [Kim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-harrison/) > [Curiosity is a raw and genuine sign from deep inside our tangled psyches, and we'd do well to follow the direction it points us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/po-bronson/curiosity-is-a-raw-and-genuine-sign-from-deep-inside-our-tangled/) [Po Bronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/po-bronson/) ## More by Alain de Botton > [“To be mature is, we're told, to move beyond possessiveness. Jealousy is for babies. The mature person knows that no one owns anyone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/to-be-mature-is-we-re-told-to-move-beyond-possessiveness-jealousy-is/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“He feared that by leaving her he would ruin her life - so he stayed, and did just that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/he-feared-that-by-leaving-her-he-would-ruin-her-life-so-he-stayed-and/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [You have to be quite heavily invested in someone to do them the honour of telling them you're annoyed with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/you-have-to-be-quite-heavily-invested-in-someone-to-do-them-the/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“The Anxiety of Sunday afternoon: your unlived lives and infinite possibility pressing upon the constraints of reality.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-anxiety-of-sunday-afternoon-your-unlived-lives-and-infinite/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Those who divorce aren't necessarily the most unhappy, just those neatly able to believe their misery is caused by one other person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/those-who-divorce-aren-t-necessarily-the-most-unhappy-just-those/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“We could not be fulfilled if we weren't inauthentic some of the time—inauthentic, that is, in relation to such things as our passing desires…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/we-could-not-be-fulfilled-if-we-weren-t-inauthentic-some-of-the-time/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Insofar as we appreciate order, it is when we perceive it as being accompanied by complexity, when we feel that a variety of elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/insofar-as-we-appreciate-order-it-is-when-we-perceive-it-as-being/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [I like the values associated with a medical family - common sense, being practical but also thoughtful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/i-like-the-values-associated-with-a-medical-family-common-sense-being/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Anyone who urgently needs us deserves, in the true book of love, to be our friend.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/anyone-who-urgently-needs-us-deserves-in-the-true-book-of-love-to-be/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“We can then recognize that we invented religions to serve two central needs which continue to this day and which secular society has not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/we-can-then-recognize-that-we-invented-religions-to-serve-two-central/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Half the ingratitude and complacency in the world down to how slowly and imperceptibly most good and bad things unfold.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/half-the-ingratitude-and-complacency-in-the-world-down-to-how-slowly/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [It is perhaps when our lives are at their most problematic that we are likely to be most receptive to beautiful things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/it-is-perhaps-when-our-lives-are-at-their-most-problematic-that-we/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [“Does what is praised becomes better? Does an emerald become worse if it isn't praised? And what a gold, ivory, a flower or a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/does-what-is-praised-becomes-better-does-an-emerald-become-worse-if/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [The bourgeois thinkers of the eighteenth century thus turned Aristotle's formula on its head: satisfactions which the Greek philosopher had identified with leisure were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/the-bourgeois-thinkers-of-the-eighteenth-century-thus-turned/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [Reputation matters so much only because people so seldom think for themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/reputation-matters-so-much-only-because-people-so-seldom-think-for/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) [Explore all 850 Alain de Botton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) ## More Ambition quotes > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [One needs more than ambition and talent to make a success of anything, really. There must be love and a vocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessye-norman/one-needs-more-than-ambition-and-talent-to-make-a-success-of-anything/) [Jessye Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessye-norman/) > [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [A man's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-s-worth-is-no-greater-than-the-worth-of-his-ambitions/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm hungry and ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julen-lopetegui/i-m-hungry-and-ambitious/) [Julen Lopetegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julen-lopetegui/) > [“I was ambitious and desperate to direct my first film, so I capitulated and blew it. Never again. Never fucking again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/i-was-ambitious-and-desperate-to-direct-my-first-film-so-i/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [I was always attracted most to joining City, and I am pleased to be at such a good club with such a big ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edin-dzeko/i-was-always-attracted-most-to-joining-city-and-i-am-pleased-to-be-at/) [Edin Dzeko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edin-dzeko/) > [Work towards your goal and dont watch the post size,its either they hate,or like you.there is no room for both sides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-buabeng/work-towards-your-goal-and-dont-watch-the-post-size-its-either-they/) [Isaac Buabeng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-buabeng/) > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I almost never have a plan for myself... I'm not ambitious in that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-plimpton/i-almost-never-have-a-plan-for-myself-i-m-not-ambitious-in-that-way/) [Martha Plimpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-plimpton/) > [I play for high stakes and given an audience - there is no act too daring or too noble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-play-for-high-stakes-and-given-an-audience-there-is-no-act-too/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [There's nothing worse than a leader who lacks ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-nothing-worse-than-a-leader-who-lacks-ambition/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If i can't even protect my captain's dream, then whatever ambition i have is nothing but talk..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoro/if-i-can-t-even-protect-my-captain-s-dream-then-whatever-ambition-i/) [Zoro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoro/) > [It may seem unattainable but if you put actions, your heart and your mind into it, you will prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-mond/it-may-seem-unattainable-but-if-you-put-actions-your-heart-and-your/) [London Mond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-mond/) > [Obligation is what's leading us to toward successful, and what keeps us moving towards the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wazim-shaw/obligation-is-what-s-leading-us-to-toward-successful-and-what-keeps/) [Wazim Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wazim-shaw/) [Browse all 4,601 Ambition quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Envy: a confused, tangled guide to one's own ambitions.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alain de Botton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/envy-a-confused-tangled-guide-to-one-s-own-ambitions/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambition" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/envy-a-confused-tangled-guide-to-one-s-own-ambitions/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cc/alain-de-botton-221_ambition_envy-a-confused-tangled-guide-to-one-s-o_1543514.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cc/alain-de-botton-221_ambition_envy-a-confused-tangled-guide-to-one-s-o_1543514.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6cc/alain-de-botton-221_ambition_envy-a-confused-tangled-guide-to-one-s-o_1543514.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Envy: a confused, tangled guide to one's own ambitions.” — Alain de Botton", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alain de Botton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Envy: a confused, tangled guide to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/envy-a-confused-tangled-guide-to-one-s-own-ambitions/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/envy-a-confused-tangled-guide-to-one-s-own-ambitions/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```