Is an envious person happy or unhappy? The answer depends on the situation. That’s because envy has both dark side and bright side.
Envy’s dark side is that envious person tend to derive pain from what others have instead of deriving pleasure from what he has. These people waste time and emotional energy by comparing themselves with others. It directly makes people unhappy.
Envy’s bright side plays the critical role for happiness as powerful driver for motivation. Motivation encourages envious person keep trying to achieve better. More accomplishment makes one feel better. In other word, it indirectly have people happy.
In summary, Envy’s dark side directly impact people’s happiness and does so indirectly.