Inse had been feeling down lately. His best friend, Jack, had recently won a science competition, and Inse couldn’t help but feel jealous. He had worked hard on his project, but it didn’t come close to Jack’s. Inse couldn’t shake off the feeling of inadequacy that came with it.
One day, as they walked to school, Curity noticed Inse’s downcast face. “What’s wrong, little brother?” she asked.
Inse sighed. “It’s nothing,” he muttered.
Curity knew better than to let it go. “Come on, tell me,” she coaxed.
“It’s Jack,” Inse admitted. “He won the science competition, and I’m just… not good enough.”
Curity stopped in her tracks and put her hand on Inse’s shoulder. “Hey, don’t say that. You worked hard on your project, and I’m sure it’s great in its own way.”
Inse wasn’t convinced. “But Jack’s was better,” he said.
Curity smiled. “Of course, Jack’s was great. But that doesn’t mean yours wasn’t. You should be happy for Jack’s success and celebrate it with him.”
Inse frowned. “But how can I celebrate when I feel like a loser?”
Curity thought for a moment. “Remember the second transformation we talked about? You can use your feelings of jealousy as inspiration. What can you learn from Jack’s success? How can you use it to motivate yourself to do better?”
Inse thought about it. “I guess I can learn from Jack’s project and improve on mine,” he said slowly.
Curity nodded. “Exactly. And that’s how you can celebrate Jack’s success.”
Inse felt a little better, but he still felt a twinge of jealousy whenever he saw Jack’s project on display at school. He tried to ignore it and focus on his own project, but it wasn’t easy.
One day, as they were walking home from school, they saw Jack at the park. He was sitting on a bench, staring at his science project with a frown on his face.
Inse couldn’t believe it. “What’s wrong, Jack?” he asked.
Jack sighed. “I just realized I made a mistake in my project. It’s not going to work as well as I thought it would.”
Inse was shocked. He had always thought of Jack as perfect. “But you won the competition,” he said.
Jack shrugged. “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. I wish I had done it differently.”
Inse looked at Curity, and she nodded at him. “This is the third transformation,” she whispered. “The voice of security. We should help Jack.”
Inse didn’t know what to do, but Curity took charge. “Hey, Jack,” she said. “We can help you fix it. We’re good at science, too.”
Jack looked up at them, surprised. “Really?”
Inse nodded eagerly. “Of course. We’re a team, right?”
Jack smiled. “Thanks, guys. That would be awesome.”
They spent the rest of the afternoon working on Jack’s project. Inse and Curity helped him fix the mistake and make it even better than before. Jack was amazed at how well they worked together.
As they walked home, Inse felt a sense of pride and happiness he had never felt before. “This is the fourth transformation,” he said to Curity. “Taking action really makes a difference.”
Curity smiled. “Yes, it does. And we also befriended the two inner voices, just like the fifth transformation.”
Inse felt ashamed of himself for feeling jealous, but Curity reassured him that it was a natural feeling and that what mattered was how he responded to it. She reminded him of the third transformation, to focus on the voice of security, and encouraged him to think about the good things in his own life and to be happy for his friend’s success.
Inse took a deep breath and tried to shift his focus onto the positive. He thought about his own accomplishments and the things he was grateful for. Slowly, he began to feel better and even started to feel happy for his friend. He congratulated her on her success and genuinely celebrated with her.
As they walked home together, Inse realized that he had learned an important lesson. He had overcome his jealousy and learned to celebrate others’ successes instead of feeling envious. He was proud of himself and grateful for Curity’s guidance.
The next day at school, Inse noticed that his friend was still glowing with happiness from her success. He approached her and complimented her again, telling her how proud he was of her. She smiled and thanked him, and the two of them continued their friendship as strong as ever.
As Inse reflected on the situation, he realized that jealousy was just another voice of insecurity, but he had learned to use it as inspiration and amusement, just like Curity had taught him. He had also taken action by shifting his focus to the positive and celebrating his friend’s success. And finally, he had befriended the two inner voices by finding a way to be happy for others’ successes while still pursuing his own dreams.
