I honestly wasn't expecting such good advice. Thanks for surprising me. The reality we have to live with is that we have to live with reality. We're really not in control of anything but our own responses and our initiatives. You're just not in charge of other people's opinions, words, or actions, and not responsible for them. You are in charge of you, and responsible for what you do.

Another hard earned lesson: if they can take it away from you, it was never really yours.

It is very good that you pointed out that feeling envious or disappointed are motivators to improve our performance. It doesn't matter if the world isn't fair, or that life is nasty, short, and brutish. Those things just are. What does matter is whether you are brutish, or unfair.

Those are things you control, and that you will judge yourself for according to the standards of behaviour you find relevant. If you keep yourself, if you find a way, you will respect yourself at the end of the day.