--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Envy is the consuming desire to have…" description: "\"Envy is the consuming desire to have everybody else as unsuccessful as you are.\" — Frederick Buechner" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed6/frederick-buechner-883_consuming_envy-is-the-consuming-desire-to-have-eve_2322820.png" --- # Envy is the consuming desire to have everybody else as… ![“Envy is the consuming desire to have everybody else as unsuccessful as you are.” quote by Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed6/frederick-buechner-883_consuming_envy-is-the-consuming-desire-to-have-eve_2322820.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed6/frederick-buechner-883_consuming_envy-is-the-consuming-desire-to-have-eve_2322820.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed6/frederick-buechner-883_consuming_envy-is-the-consuming-desire-to-have-eve_2322820.png) > “Envy is the consuming desire to have everybody else as unsuccessful as you are.” [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) ## 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 the desire for others to fail as much as you wish to succeed, consuming you. **In simple terms:** Envy wants others to lose. Key Takeaway Recognize envy, redirect energy to self‑improvement. Themes envy comparison insecurity competition self‑esteem Mood introspective critical Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - workplace - social media - family gatherings - academic settings - personal relationships Key Concepts psychology ethical philosophy emotional intelligence Questions to Reflect On - How does envy affect your actions? - What can you do to transform envy into growth? A Different Perspective Envy can also motivate positive change if channeled. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Consuming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consuming/) [Consuming Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consuming-desire-470624/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Desire Everybody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire-everybody-833205/) [Envy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envy/) [Envy Consuming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/envy-consuming-5559433/) [Everybody Unsuccessful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everybody-unsuccessful-5559434/) [Unsuccessful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unsuccessful/) ## Related quotes > [Yes, my consuming desire is to mingle with road crews, sailors and soldiers, barroom regulars—to be a part of a scene, anonymous, listening, recording—all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/yes-my-consuming-desire-is-to-mingle-with-road-crews-sailors-and/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [It's not that I'm a Type-B personality. It's that I'm driven by a passionate, all-consuming desire to take it easy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/it-s-not-that-i-m-a-type-b-personality-it-s-that-i-m-driven-by-a/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [The consuming desire of most human beings is deliberately to place their entire life in the hands of some other person. For this purpose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/the-consuming-desire-of-most-human-beings-is-deliberately-to-place/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [The consuming desire of most human beings is deliberately to plant their whole life in the hands of some other person. I would describe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/the-consuming-desire-of-most-human-beings-is-deliberately-to-plant/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [I am not the kind of person that wants to enforce my wants, likes, desires, on everybody else. I have no desire that everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/i-am-not-the-kind-of-person-that-wants-to-enforce-my-wants-likes/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [To look for total satisfaction in oneself is a futile endeavor. Since everything changes from moment to moment, where can self and where can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayya-khema/to-look-for-total-satisfaction-in-oneself-is-a-futile-endeavor-since/) [Ayya Khema](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayya-khema/) > [“Being born a woman is my awful tragedy. 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We are creatures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gil-bailie/humans-in-short-desire-something-both-unknown-to-them-and/) [Gil Bailie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gil-bailie/) > [I've become absolutely convinced that the seminal difference between successful companies and mediocre or unsuccessful ones has little, if anything, to do with what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-lencioni/i-ve-become-absolutely-convinced-that-the-seminal-difference-between/) [Patrick Lencioni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-lencioni/) > [When the government makes loans or subsidies to business, what it does is to tax successful private business in order to support unsuccessful private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/when-the-government-makes-loans-or-subsidies-to-business-what-it-does/) [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) > [Most people aren't unsuccessful in life because they don't know what to do. They are unsuccessful because they don't DO what they know how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-duncan/most-people-aren-t-unsuccessful-in-life-because-they-don-t-know-what/) [Al Duncan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-duncan/) > [I refer to the misunderstanding of Soviet Russia as an aggressive power, militaristically and ideologically bent upon world domination 'seeing', to quote a recent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enoch-powell/i-refer-to-the-misunderstanding-of-soviet-russia-as-an-aggressive/) [Enoch Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enoch-powell/) > [I was so unsuccessful for so long. I was used to the word no. I was used to you're not good enough or not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamar-braxton/i-was-so-unsuccessful-for-so-long-i-was-used-to-the-word-no-i-was/) [Tamar Braxton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamar-braxton/) > [To be normal is the ultimate aim of the unsuccessful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/to-be-normal-is-the-ultimate-aim-of-the-unsuccessful/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) ## More by Frederick Buechner > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [People are disturbed not by things but by the view they take of them. They may forget what you said, but they will never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/people-are-disturbed-not-by-things-but-by-the-view-they-take-of-them/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [It is impossible to conceive how different things would have turned out if that birth had not happened whenever, wherever, however it didfor millions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/it-is-impossible-to-conceive-how-different-things-would-have-turned/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [At least to look back over their own lives, as I have looked back over mine, for certain themes and patterns and signals that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/at-least-to-look-back-over-their-own-lives-as-i-have-looked-back-over/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [Snobs are people who look down on other people, but that does not justify our looking down on them. 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Or she'd cover her mirth with her hands and shake till you'd think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/how-adewen-stuffed-her-braid-in-her-mouth-at-that-or-she-d-cover-her/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [Resurrection means that the worst thing is never the last thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/resurrection-means-that-the-worst-thing-is-never-the-last-thing/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) [Explore all 339 Frederick Buechner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) ## More Consuming quotes > [A garden has a curious innocent way of consuming cash while all the time you are under the illusion that you are spending nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-meynell/a-garden-has-a-curious-innocent-way-of-consuming-cash-while-all-the/) [Esther Meynell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-meynell/) > [Royalty has always been an unconscious but all-consuming goal of the European immigrant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vine-deloria-jr/royalty-has-always-been-an-unconscious-but-all-consuming-goal-of-the/) [Vine Deloria Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vine-deloria-jr/) > [I'm in production year round. I work long hours. I have a dog and a wife. There's not a lot of available time for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-glass/i-m-in-production-year-round-i-work-long-hours-i-have-a-dog-and-a/) [Ira Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-glass/) > [If we were truly in the studio making a record, it would have been more time consuming, and certainly I would have been more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-dayne/if-we-were-truly-in-the-studio-making-a-record-it-would-have-been/) [Taylor Dayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-dayne/) > [The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program is a very effective way to raise awareness and consumption of two vital food groups that are sometimes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dean-crapo/the-fresh-fruit-and-vegetable-program-is-a-very-effective-way-to/) [Michael Dean Crapo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dean-crapo/) > [As I write, Johnny Rotten's first moments in "Anarchy in the U.K." - a rolling earthquake of a laugh, a buried shout, then hoary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/as-i-write-johnny-rotten-s-first-moments-in-anarchy-in-the-u-k-a/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [Love to throw yourself on the earth and kiss it. Kiss the earth and love it with an unceasing, consuming love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/love-to-throw-yourself-on-the-earth-and-kiss-it-kiss-the-earth-and/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) > [Development of character consists solely in moving toward self-sufficiency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/development-of-character-consists-solely-in-moving-toward-self/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [ There are about 50 or 60 recommendations \[in "Win"\] for how to communicate, not just the words themselves. All of them had to be… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-luntz/there-are-about-50-or-60-recommendations-in-win-for-how-to/) [Frank Luntz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-luntz/) > [Shooting stuff on horseback is more complicated and time consuming than anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-addy/shooting-stuff-on-horseback-is-more-complicated-and-time-consuming/) [Mark Addy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-addy/) > [A lot of my time is spent watching films and reading scripts. And it can be all-consuming. And it's obviously something I'm fortunate that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/a-lot-of-my-time-is-spent-watching-films-and-reading-scripts-and-it/) [Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/) > [Writing is a creatively rewarding occupation but for me very time consuming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-johnson/writing-is-a-creatively-rewarding-occupation-but-for-me-very-time/) [Holly Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-johnson/) > [Using clouds is a radical way of consuming IT. 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Very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marya-hornbacher/at-a-certain-point-an-eating-disorder-ceases-to-be-about-any-one/) [Marya Hornbacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marya-hornbacher/) [Browse all 481 Consuming quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consuming/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Envy is the consuming desire to have everybody else as unsuccessful as you are.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frederick Buechner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/envy-is-the-consuming-desire-to-have-everybody-else-as-unsuccessful/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Consuming" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/envy-is-the-consuming-desire-to-have-everybody-else-as-unsuccessful/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed6/frederick-buechner-883_consuming_envy-is-the-consuming-desire-to-have-eve_2322820.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed6/frederick-buechner-883_consuming_envy-is-the-consuming-desire-to-have-eve_2322820.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed6/frederick-buechner-883_consuming_envy-is-the-consuming-desire-to-have-eve_2322820.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Envy is the consuming desire to have everybody else as unsuccessful as you are.” — Frederick Buechner", "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": "Frederick Buechner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Envy is the consuming desire to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/envy-is-the-consuming-desire-to-have-everybody-else-as-unsuccessful/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/envy-is-the-consuming-desire-to-have-everybody-else-as-unsuccessful/#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 } } ] } ```