You never have to lose, as long as you stay out of competitions in which you can’t control the outcome. Look out when you see someone who’s doing well in externals (prospering, powerful or just generally well liked), in case you’re fooled by appearances and decide he’s happy.

If the true good pertains only to what we control, there’s no point at all in envy, and you needn’t be desperate to be someone important – you can just want to be a free person. And the only way to do that is to stop trying to control what you can’t control.