79 Top Quotes about Bitterness, Jealousy, and Envy
Bitterness, jealousy, and envy — three emotions that can quietly creep into our lives and hold us back from true happiness and peace. These feelings often stem from comparison, unmet expectations, or past hurts, but we can let go of them and they don’t have to define us.
In this article, we’re exploring insightful quotes that shed light on these emotions, helping us understand their roots and offering wisdom to let them go.
Whether you’re looking for inspiration to rise above negativity, or simply need a reminder to focus on gratitude and personal growth, these inspirational quotes about bitterness, jealousy, and envy will empower you to embrace a more joyful, fulfilling life.
The Meaning of Envy, Bitterness, and Jealousy
I didn’t always know the difference between envy and jealousy. While envy and jealousy are often used interchangeably, they actually describe different emotional experiences.
Let’s look at simple definitions of these three powerful emotions:
- Bitterness often stems from unresolved hurt or disappointment. It’s an emotion that arises when someone feels wronged, treated unfairly, or let down. Bitterness can linger and create a sense of resentment toward a person, situation, or even life in general. For example, you might feel bitter about a lost opportunity, an unfulfilled promise, or being overlooked for recognition.
- Jealousy involves a fear of losing something you already have, especially in the context of relationships. It’s often linked to feelings of insecurity or rivalry. For instance, you might feel jealous if you think your partner is paying too much attention to someone else.
- Envy is when you want something that someone else has. You have high hopes of getting it. The emotion is often tied to feelings of longing or resentment. For example, you might feel envious of a friend’s career success, new car, or fabulous vacation.
Unfortunately, I have known many bitter people in my life and I’ve witnessed first-hand how bitterness sours life. It seems the root of bitterness is anger.
Don’t let the negative emotions of bitterness, jealousy, and envy hold you back from being the person you are meant to be. Give these quotes about bitterness, jealousy, and envy some deep thought, and consider letting go and changing your mindset. You will become a better person—rather than a bitter person!
Bitterness Quotes
Letting go of bitterness will help you develop a pure heart that opens your world to love, acceptance, and inner peace. You will have more harmonious relationships and a sense of emotional freedom that allows you to focus on joy, gratitude, and personal growth.
Spend some time reflecting on these quotes about bitterness to help rid yourself of this negative emotion that prevents you from living your best life.
1. “Only courageous hearts can endure the bitterness of truth.” ― Michael Bassey Johnson
2. “Bitterness is how we punish ourselves for other people’s sins.” ― Matshona Dhliwayo
3. “10 Tips for Overcoming Bitterness
1. Avoid anger.
2. Live joyfully.
3. Shun envy.
4. Practice gratitude.
5. Seek peace.
6. Forgive.
7. Be content.
8. Tame your ego.
9. Murmur less.
10. Love more.”
― Matshona Dhliwayo
4. “A grateful heart is better than a bitter soul.” ― Matshona Dhliwayo
5. “There is no greater beast than envy, no greater thief than fear, no greater enemy than greed, no greater predator than wrath, and no greater poison than bitterness.” ― Matshona Dhliwayo
6. “Never let bitterness make a home in your heart; raise the rent and kick it out.” ― Matshona Dhliwayo
7. “Bitterness is venom that consumes its host.” ― Matshona Dhliwayo
8. “Worst betrayal always comes from the people we trust a lot.” ― Garima Soni
9. “Anger and bitterness rob you of peace not your enemy.” ― Allene van Oirschot
10. “Bitterness is not a badge of intelligence. It is a sign of profound ignorance.” ― Wayne Gerard Trotman
11. “Worry, hate, fear-together with their offshoots: anxiety, bitterness, impatience, avarice, unkindness, judgmentalness, and condemnation-all attack the body at the cellular level. It is impossible to have a healthy body under these conditions.” ― Neale Donald Walsch
12. “Hurt leads to bitterness, bitterness to anger, travel too far that road and the way is lost.” ― Terry Brooks
13. “The more we hold on to our hurts, anger and bitterness, the more we become slaves to unforgiveness.” ― Nancy Leigh DeMoss
14. “Those bitter memories felt like a wrongly inked tattoo; it sticks to me adamantly even when I want to get rid of it.” ― Misbah Khan
15. “I know from personal experience how damaging it can be to live with bitterness and unforgiveness. I like to say it’s like taking poison and hoping your enemy will die. And it really is that harmful to us to live this way.” ― Joyce Meyer
16. “From the heart of the fountain of delight rises a jet of bitterness that tortures us among the very flowers.” — Lucretius
17. “It’s not just what you eat that matters, it’s what eats you. You can have all the right macrobiotics and organic food, but if your body is filled with resentment, worry, fear, lust, guilt, anger, bitterness, or any other emotional disease, it’s going to shorten your life.” ― Rick Warren
18. “When life is bitter, you have no sweet dreams” ― Tamerlan Kuzgov
19. “Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. But anger is like fire. It burns it all clean.” — Maya Angelou
20. “It is hardly possible to build anything if frustration, bitterness and a mood of helplessness prevail.” — Lech Walesa
21. “Don’t be so bitter about a bad experience from your past that you miss the opportunities in front of you.” ― Robert Kiyosaki
22. “Never succumb to the temptation of bitterness.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.
23. “It is a simple but sometimes forgotten truth that the greatest enemy to present joy and high hopes is the cultivation of retrospective bitterness.” ― Robert Menzies
24. “The worst thing in life is not to die but to live with bitterness.” — Vitor Belfort
25. “Bitterness imprisons life; love releases it. Bitterness paralyzes life; love empowers it. Bitterness sours life; love sweetens it. Bitterness sickens life; love heals it. Bitterness blinds life; love anoints its eyes.” ― Harry Emerson Fosdick
26. “There are many kinds of smiles, each having a distinct character. Some announce goodness and sweetness, others betray sarcasm, bitterness and pride; some soften the countenance by their languishing tenderness, others brighten by their spiritual vivacity.” ― Johann Kaspar Lavater
27. “Bitterness imprisons life; love releases it.” — Harry Emerson Fosdick
28. “I’ve purged myself of bitterness and anger and remained open to love.” — Tatum O’Neal
29. “Words can be said in bitterness and anger, and often there seems to be an element of truth in the nastiness. And words don’t go away, they just echo around.” — Jane Goodall
30. “We need the compassion and the courage to change the conditions that support our suffering. Those conditions are things like ignorance, bitterness, negligence, clinging, and holding on.” — Sharon Salzberg
31. “From the heart of the fountain of delight rises a jet of bitterness that tortures us among the very flowers.” — Lucretius
32. “Something my mum taught me years and years and years ago, is life’s just too short to carry around a great bucket-load of anger and resentment and bitterness and hatreds and all that sort of stuff.” — Kevin Rudd
33. “Sabotage did not involve loss of life, and it offered the best hope for future race relations. Bitterness would be kept to a minimum and, if the policy bore fruit, democratic government could become a reality.” — Nelson Mandela
34. “I don’t think you can ever be bitter about anything, because if you don’t allow your heart to stay open, then all you have is a filled heart of hate and bitterness, and you’re never able to love or like anybody.” — Debbie Reynolds
35. “Forgiveness is the key which unlocks the door of resentment and the handcuffs of hatred. It breaks the chains of bitterness and the shackles of selfishness.” ― Corrie ten Boom
36. “You have to accept your fate; do it without bitterness and stay humble.” — Anthony Scaramucci
37. “Those who cannot work with their hearts achieve but a hollow, half-hearted success that breeds bitterness all around.” — A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
38. “I started realizing how the condition of our hearts affects the way we see. If your heart is full of bitterness, anger, and resentment, you’re going to look at this world as a very evil place.” — Danny Gokey
39. “Bitterness and resentment only hurt one person, and it’s not the person we’re resenting – it’s us.” — Alana Stewart
40. “He who gives away shall have real gain. He who subdues himself shall be free; he shall cease to be a slave of passions. The righteous man casts off evil, and by rooting out lust, bitterness, and illusion do we reach Nirvana.” — Buddha
41. “Bitterness is a result of clinging to negative experiences. It serves you no good and closes the door to your future.” — Leon Brown
42. “Choose to be better instead of bitter.” — Unknown
43. “No occasion justifies hatred; no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love.” — Max Lucado
Quotes About Jealousy
These quotes about jealousy will help you put those feelings into perspective. Jealousy is nothing more than an insecure mindset that prevents you from focusing on your own blessings.
44. “Jealousy is all the fun you think they had.” — Erica Jong
45. “I am convinced that the jealous, the angry, the bitter, and the egotistical are the first to race to the top of mountains. A confident person enjoys the journey, the people they meet along the way and sees life not as a competition.” — Shannon L. Alder
46. “Jealousy is no more than feeling alone against smiling enemies.” — Elizabeth Bowen
47. “Magnanimous people have no vanity, they have no jealousy, and they feed on the true and the solid wherever they find it. And, what is more, they find it everywhere.” — Van Wyck Brooks
48. “The jealous are possessed by a mad devil and a dull spirit at the same time.” — Johann Kaspar Lavater
49. “You can only be jealous of someone who has something you think you ought to have yourself.” — Margaret Atwood
50. “I don’t believe in comparing myself with anyone else, as that leads to hatred and jealousy.” — Shehnaaz Gill
51. “Insecure people only eclipse your sun because they’re jealous of your daylight and tired of their dark, starless nights.” — Shannon L. Alder
52. “Jealousy is the tie that binds, and binds, and binds.” — Helen Rowland
53. “Never hate jealous people. They are jealous because they think you are better than them.” — Paulo Coelho
54. “I don’t want anything negative in my life, like hate, comparison, competition, and jealousy. I think these things are very heavy and take away from you the way of enjoying life.” — Vivek Oberoi
55. “Jealousy is when you count someone else’s blessings instead of your own.” — Amanda Metcalf
56. “Jealousy is simply and clearly the fear that you do not have value. Jealousy scans for evidence to prove the point – that others will be preferred and rewarded more than you. There is only one alternative – self-value. If you cannot love yourself, you will not believe that you are loved. You will always think it’s a mistake or luck.” — Jennifer James
57. “The surest route to breeding jealousy is to compare. Since jealousy comes from feeling less than another, comparisons only fan the fires.” — Dorothy Corkille Briggs
58. “Don’t waste time on jealousy. Sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind. The race is long and, in the end, it’s only with yourself.” — Kurt Vonnegut
59. “I think it’s important to get your surroundings as well as yourself into a positive state – meaning surround yourself with positive people, not the kind who are negative and jealous of everything you do.” — Heidi Klum
60. “A competent and self-confident person is incapable of jealousy in anything. Jealousy is invariably a symptom of neurotic insecurity.” — Robert A. Heinlein
61. “The jealous are troublesome to others, but a torment to themselves.” — William Penn
62. “There is no greater glory than love, nor any greater punishment than jealousy.” — Lope de Vega
63. “Where jealousy is, obviously love is not; and yet with most people, jealousy is taken as an indication of love. Jealousy” ― Jiddu Krishnamurti
64. “Don’t waste time on jealousy. Sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind.” — Mary Schmich
Envy Quotes
Letting go of envy allows you to cultivate gratitude, strengthen your self-confidence, and build deeper, more supportive relationships with others.
I hope these quotes inspire you to release envy and embrace contentment, helping you celebrate your own unique journey.
65. “One of the few benefits of growing older is that envy is replaced by admiration.” — James Pope-Hennessey
66. “Spite is never lonely; envy always tags along.” — Mignon McLaughlin
67. “Love looks through a telescope; envy, through a microscope.” — Josh Billings
68. “The wicked envy and hate; it is their way of admiring.” ― Victor Hugo
69. “When envy consumes us, we are unable to love, unable to appreciate others. Envy opens the floodgates to our darkest emotions and our most mean-spirited inclinations.” — Melvyn Kinder
70. “Do not feel envious of the happiness of those who live in a fool’s paradise, for only a fool will think that it is happiness.” ― Bertrand Russell
71. “When envy is in your heart, your neighbor’s hens will look like turkeys, and your neighbor’s cabin like a castle. Envy enlarges everything.” — Fred Van Amburgh
72. “Envy is a symptom of lack of appreciation of our own uniqueness and self-worth. Each of us has something to give that no one else has.” — Elizabeth O’Connor
73. “If we but knew how little some enjoy of the great things that they possess, there would not be much envy in the world.” — Edward Young
74. “There comes a time in every person’s education when we arrive at the conviction that envy is ignorance.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
75. “Envy is admiration laced with resentment.” ― Matshona Dhliwayo
76. “People only stone a tree that is full of ripe fruit.” ― Matshona Dhliwayo
77. “As a bird with beautiful feathers is the target of hunters, so the gifted are targets of the envious.” ― Matshona Dhliwayo
78. “Don’t blow out someone’s candle or you’ll both end up in the dark.” ― Matshona Dhliwayo
79. “Daises do not begrudge roses; that is why we have beautiful gardens.” ― Matshona Dhliwayo
Final Thoughts: Bitterness, Jealousy, and Envy Quotes
Bitterness, jealousy, and envy are negative emotions that are based on fear, insecurity, and anger. Don’t let these emotions pull you down.
Look for the inspiration in these words of wisdom and work on shifting your mindset. If you are unable to do this alone, you may want to consider seeing a talk therapist to work through these feelings. They can negatively affect your entire life if you can’t rid yourself of these emotions.
You may be interested in these Related Articles:
- 120 Healing Affirmations for Letting Go and Moving On
- 19 Negative Things to Release for Greater Peace of Mind
- 85 Daily Affirmations to Change Your Negative Thoughts
- How to Accept the Situation and Move on with a SMILE
Love to ALL! ~ Susan
