I'm not jealous of anyone's specific significant other - just relationships in general.

Yeah, I'm with you on that one.

I always used to be the token single person in my former social circles, and it sucked donkey balls.

Of course, thankfully I'm not in that situation any more :o)

In response to the "what things" question, I think my main envy would be those people who have made a success out of things that I'm trying to be successful in - but I haven't got there yet.

For example, I have a number of friends who are awesome photographers, I have a number of friends who are in successful bands, a couple of which are bass players like myself.

This was a great poll, Mark - nice one! :o)

Regarding work - I don't tend to envy or be jealous of those who have done well through hard work, natural talent, or even luck (or any combination of those). However, where they've risen through bullshit, connections, or by nefarious means, then I'm jealous. Perhaps more angry than jealous though!

For some of us it's probably partly a religious discussion - the tenth commandment being "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that [is] thy neighbour's.".

For me it is definitely rooted in that, and particularly my feelings of shame over it. It is a sin afterall.

And part of it is a philosophical outlook - I am always reminded of the Desiderata -

"If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time. "

Like most things it is something to be aspired to - my better self - not to covet - but being human occasionally it happens.

I get jealous when people I care about spend time with other people/other things and I want them to spend time with me. I am open about this (usually), but don't make too many demands due to my jealousy.

I think it's important to make the distiction between jealousy and envy. Jealousy is when you don't think they deserve it and you want to take it away from them. Envy is when you admire what they have in a non-malicious way.

That said, I don't really envy possessions or wealth as much as natural talent.

I get very jealous of people who live in the places I would like to live. Two cities I used to live in--Boulder and San Diego--I would LOVE to live in again and I miss them terribly, and I hate that I've left them behind and have no good way (right now) to make moving back there a reasonable option.

I think it's more irritation with myself for perhaps choosing the wrong career path than jealousy that my friends have. I don't want to change their situation, but do want to change my own.

I usually get jealous of the (perceived) happiness of others.

I get extremely jealous of people with lots of confidence, charisma, and self-esteem -- three traits which are distinctly lacking in my own personality.

I also used to get jealous of my SO's close female friends, but that's a thing of the past these days. I was worried back then that they would steal him away.

When I was much younger, I thought that the "having of things" was a measurement of success. If I didn't have (or couldn't obtain) these things, it felt sort of like failing. (I think it all boiled down to "wealth" or lack of it.)

Those thoughts have long since fallen away. Happiness and success isn't measured by "things" or "titles." Because things are just that .. things. They rust, they break, they're stolen .. they become obsolete or you lose your job (and hence your title). In other words, they don't last forever and it's a never ending chore to keep on top of them.

Nowadays, I work less, therefore earn less money but have so much more happiness and contentment (and peace) in my life. I don't care what others have. Sure, it might be nice to have a fancier this or that but it would probably require more work, more stress and less time to enjoy what I already do have. Plus, I'd hate for something as terrible as envy to interfere with my friendships and the current satisfaction I have in my life.

Make sense?

I'm jealous of my sister, as she has a puppy. It's such a stupid little thing, but it's the thing that seems to cause me the most envy at the moment.