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Category Archives: Writing and Publishing

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Curated: We Need To Talk About Professional Jealousy – Electric Literature

The PolyBlog
January 20 2023

I occasionally like to share online articles that I like, and you’ll see sporadic posts entitled “Articles I Like” throughout the blog. But honestly, Curated is probably a more accurate title. I recently found an article by Benjamin Schaefer on the website Electric Literature, although I was led there by ThePassiveVoice website. The article is entitled “We need to talk about professional jealousy,” but if you read through it, you’ll see that the term isn’t quite right.

We Need To Talk About Professional Jealousy

He is writing from the perspective of a writer who is not as successful as some other writer friends. And when he saw their successes, he tried to hide from what he was feeling, telling himself that it was jealousy. But as he notes, it is not really jealousy. If you accept that jealousy is usually experienced from the perspective that someone else has something, it is finite, and therefore you can’t have it, or even more pointedly that it is something that can be taken from you by another, seeing someone else’s success is more about envy than true jealousy.

And I find that an incredible nuance. I have always felt that “jealousy” was never the right term in careers, writing or otherwise, even when it was a position you competed for and didn’t get. I have never felt like, “Oh, they got it, and I didn’t” in any semblance of jealousy. I didn’t begrudge them their success. As a friend liked to joke when she missed out on some opportunities that she wasn’t qualified for, it’s so unfair when they hire these bright, talented people with experience instead of a random Jane like her!

As I’ve progressed in my career, I’ve seen people who used to work for me go higher and higher. Or colleagues who were at the same level and aspiring to even higher heights. Occasionally, I wonder if perhaps I should have pushed harder to go higher, even when I know in my heart it’s not what I want. Yet I could feel something there. And envy is a much more accurate description than jealousy.

I was also intrigued how even inaccurately calling it jealousy the way most literature does, or more accurately calling it envy as a therapist might, it still wasn’t really what he was experiencing. It was more disappointment than envy. Which is a really subtle nuance. You might often feel envy that someone else has something that you would have liked to experience too. But if it is disappointment, it is more tied to ego…the article doesn’t discuss it, but if it is disappointment, then you have to have had hopes that you were a) good enough to achieve the same outcomes and b) that you actually tried.

Many people might feel envy as just envy. They would like the same outcome/success too, but they actually have no talent to match nor even have tried to achieve it. I might be envious of a QB’s success in the NFL, but it’s not anything resembling realistic envy because I could never do that, not physically, mentally, intellectually or emotionally. That wasn’t even close to an option for me. So that would clearly be envy, not disappointment.

But within my own field? Yeah, I can see how there could be some aspect of disappointment in there for some situations. It is, after all, related to one of the biggest fears I have in life — that “unrealized potential” would be a really sad epitaph.

Ultimately though, I just really liked the nuances. Maybe others will too.

Posted in Writing and Publishing | Leave a reply

Days 11-19 out of 30: A wasteland revisited

The PolyBlog
November 19 2022

The last week has been a wasteland of productivity with many other things intervening. School, appointments, ambulance rides. Yeah, not a great week. Jacob checked in tonight on his book, Draconic Earth, finishing a chapter and starting a new one. Some of it is foreshadowing major pieces for his eventual conclusion. About 400 words in total. Andrea is still working on her “cancer journey” story, suitable for future blogging installments but for now, she is writing without editing as she goes. About 2700 words in total. I did a few blogs in the last week, but not much new writing. … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing and Publishing | Tagged nanowrimo | Leave a reply

Day 07/08/09/10 out of 30: From blog to dragons to blog

The PolyBlog
November 11 2022

We’ve all had other stuff going on the last few days, so our word count was a bit lower in there. Tonight we re-engaged, with different pieces: a. Andrea is working on a blog about her cancer experience over the last while, which will eventually show up on my blog here somewhere, probably a series of shorter posts in the end. But she added 3700 words tonight. b. Jacob struggled a bit, which isn’t surprising, but he managed 170 words. He’s been tired the last few nights and had some challenges with his computer earlier this week. Funny story in … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing and Publishing | Tagged nanowrimo | Leave a reply

Day 05/06 out of 30: More speech, more dragons, and more HR

The PolyBlog
November 6 2022

Over the last two days, Andrea has kept making progress on her TM speech, although it is more in finalizing and trimming mode at this point, I think. Jacob keeps typing away, he’s up to almost 7000 words overall on his novel, chalking up another 300 words today. And I finally finished my HR guidance for Health Canada employees from the Young Professionals Network presentation I did. And answering all the various questions and sub-questions? Well, 18,750 words later, I’m done. That was way more work than I expected when I started. But I know that my answers are way … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing and Publishing | Tagged nanowrimo | Leave a reply

Day 04/30: TM speeches, Draconic Earth, and blogs

The PolyBlog
November 4 2022

Tonight, Andrea added another 450 words to her ToastMasters speech. Jacob hit a groove and was closer to 500 words (double his normal output) on his book — which he has agreed I can say has a work-in-progress title of “Draconic Earth” (which I love by the way). I continued to work on the blog post of the Q&A at Health Canada, polishing the first 4K words that I had already written, and adding another 2500 or so. I haven’t gone back to my main HR guide as I’m trying to get the blog done and I’m hoping my beta … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing and Publishing | Tagged nanowrimo | Leave a reply

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My Latest Posts

  • Deadlines, dominoes, and delaysJanuary 30, 2023
    As most people who have read this blog from time to time already know, I’m big on time management techniques, various options for to-do lists and tracking tasks. I like to set ambitious annual goals, and then monitor them throughout the year. Some years turn out better than others. Whereas many people set resolutions and … Continue reading →
  • Curated: We Need To Talk About Professional Jealousy – Electric LiteratureJanuary 20, 2023
    I occasionally like to share online articles that I like, and you’ll see sporadic posts entitled “Articles I Like” throughout the blog. But honestly, Curated is probably a more accurate title. I recently found an article by Benjamin Schaefer on the website Electric Literature, although I was led there by ThePassiveVoice website. The article is … Continue reading →
  • Schrodinger’s computer purge (part 1 / 3)January 15, 2023
    So, I’m a techno-wannabe-geek with elements of hoarding in my DNA. I find it hard to dispose of working computer parts, long after I’ve outgrown the need for them. Some “saves” are practical and some are not. And like Schrodinger’s cat, my computer purge is both real and theoretical at the same time. A. Network … Continue reading →
  • Some more reading ideas…January 15, 2023
    Chapters/Indigo has their Reading Challenge for the year too. They do it up like a bingo card, but the headings are: I’ll have to go through some of the links to see if there’s anything I want to add to my long list. 🙂
  • 11 years, a gig platform, and a chequeJanuary 13, 2023
    Somewhere in this universe, if life after death exists, my father is rolling over in his grave. Or rolling his eyes, shrugging his shoulders, throwing up his hands…whatever the ghosts do when they see their descendants doing stuff that they think is ridiculous. And it is NOT my father’s fault. Let me be clear. He … Continue reading →

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