'I wish I had her shoes'

Why do we always want what we don’t have? We’re never completely happy. We don’t like our hair, our bodies, our clothes or our jobs. The green eyed monster sat on our shoulder is constantly saying ‘I wish I had her shoes' or even, ‘Damn, I wish I’d ordered that main course’. Whatever it may be, we always want what somebody else has. A few months ago I came across the term ‘Triangular Desire’ coined by French historian and literary critic Rene Girard. He says that our desires are not in fact ‘ours’. Our desires our ‘mimetic’ – we mimic other people’s desires because we are jealous of that person; what that person has; or what that person has achieved. Your friend wants something and the only reason you want it too is because she does. We imitate to succeed, but the effects are short-lived and before you know it you’ll find another desire to mimic. Next time you want something – ask yourself is it really me who wants it?