Feeling happy in someone’s pain is not acceptable. Yes, it is unacceptable but only for others, and if the happy person is you, then? It is indeed a crucial question.
Thousands of examples show how people become happy by seeing others in acute problematic situations. They even sometimes feel joy after seeing their close ones in difficulties. It could also happen to you. You may cherish the pleasure of seeing your friend fail to score well in the exam. Or you find yourself in a satisfactory delight after your office colleague fails to qualify for the promotion.
Every human like you knows that it is a bad attitude. Most people usually possess this viewpoint for their rivals. However, any competitive situation can give birth to such hostility. Most importantly, you can feel that it is no good to feel the joy in someone’s torment. However, it is hard for you to stop thinking with envy or hatred that brings happiness. One bitter truth is even the wisest person on earth must have obtained enjoyment from others’ suffering at least once in life. In the German dictionary, this human tendency gets a name – “schadenfreude.”
So one thing is evident that every individual must have been guilty of such a feeling, be it once, twice, or many times. But, from an objective humanistic perspective, it is not healthy at all. Keeping and enjoying such a hostile feeling in somebody’s misfortune can never be justifiable. And it is necessary to squash or crush such malicious mentality.
You can beat this mentality if you try.
Yes, Feeling happy in someone’s pain can’t be an excellent example of a good human character. Some folks may try to make it justifiable. But, you should have the motive to rise above this average mindset. There is nothing praiseworthy in standing in the queue of envy and hatred.
Moreover, it is not allowable to defend such an attitude because your mind dictates you to think that way. It is a lame excuse that a normal human being can’t expect from you. The truth is you can beat this frame of mind. Your dear ones, be it your friends, relatives, colleagues, and neighbors, expect a better turn of mind. The only thing you need is a strong sense and understanding to develop an optimistic attitude. With this, you can also overcome the said view if it becomes a part of your mental addiction.
Don’t turn your mean satisfaction into a shame.
Thinking of someone your rival and feeling delight in their pain or agony can bring temporary gratification. Nonetheless, this kind of mean satisfaction can’t uplift your self-esteem. It can only carry a short-term pleasure, but it will bestow shame on you in the long run. Therefore, you should try to define your satisfaction with positive impacts. Turning it into a shame only unlocks mental affliction. To avoid this, you need to raise “your compassion for your fellow human beings.”
Can defending negativity with an excuse of enmity be allowable?
Thinking is a driving force behind creativity. But sometimes, it emerges as a challenging task to control that power. And when there is a failure in keeping that force into a tight grip, then defending that force surfaces as the best excuse.
Yes, you can defend your act of feeling happy in someone’s pain with an excuse that the person on the other side is a rival or enemy. However, can this kind of justification be acceptable at all? It shows your initiative in justifying your antipathetic view. There could be a lot of causes behind envying a person or making him your enemy even when that person is not aware of your viewpoint. But cherishing his agony due to those reasons can’t be a legitimate way of thinking.
Moreover, the person about whom you hold bitterness could be your friend or a close one. Now, finding pleasure in his sufferings means ruining the bonding of trust in a relationship. Friendship means respecting each other. Furthermore, tearing each other’s love, admiration and faith can’t make you a good friend. There always remains competitiveness between two students in school or two colleagues in the working arena. But that should be a healthy, friendly competition, which enhances a positive outlook, not anxiety.
Don’t let your kids inherit your “malicious joy.”
Many people obtain delight from others’ agony. However, you can’t follow that path. You need to understand that your behavior thoughts will always impact your next generation. That means keeping a “malicious joy” like feeling happy in someone’s pain only opens up the option for your kids to inherit that negativity. You should have an introspection. Start questioning whether possessing such an awful feeling impairs your good thought or boosts your positive mentality.
Be more pragmatic and sensible. Don’t let your kids take over the baton of negativity from you. Modify yourself and convert your evil instinct into caring and sympathetic. Teach your sense to help people in their challenging moments.
