Dr. Martin Hash Podcast

Anybody can be rich: take the lowliest beggar and give them a winning lottery ticket, and they'll be a multi-millionaire tomorrow. There are no fixed steps to becoming rich: tens of thousands of people try the same thing but only the lucky ones get to be. You can just as easily lose your wealth at any time, so it's not a negative reflection on you if you're not rich. This means somebody else's wealth does not affect your status so it doesn't trigger your envy & resentment.

On-the-other-hand, achievement is very difficult, and though everyone thinks they can, most can't. Achievement is not primarily luck: there's a list of things to accomplish, and when you're done, you get the credit for achieving. Plus, no one can take your achievements from you; there's a plaque somewhere with your name on it. This means somebody else's achievement lowers your relative status, which does spike envy & resentment. Is it no wonder that wealth is admired while achievement rises suspicion.