Some suggestions....

Resentment is the stuff that wildly successful gossip blogs, tabloid rags, and the Joan Rivers and Wendy William's of the world are made of. It's wanting to see the rich and famous tumble down to the cold cold world of struggle and strife.

Now the reason why I know these emotions so well is because I lived them for the better part of my life. I was raised in a poor, black (dark-skinned), dysfunctional, with an angry as all hell non-communicative single parent. I envied and resented light-skinned women, two parent homes, flat tummies, the rich, people who appeared to have more than me, models, and everything that the trifecta of cable, magazine, and movies (along with poor parenting skills) can serve up to create some really pitiful low self-esteem.

It held me back. For a long time. And I for the life of me couldn't figure out why I was so stuck in this cycle of negative thinking. I didn't realize that I went along with the game plan of feeling inferior and unworthy. I cosigned my life on a bad check; I believed the hype.

So you're probably wondering: " How do I get out of this emotional tug of war? How can I get my thinking out of the status quo? When I'm feeling envious or resentful these are the words of wisdom that I use to return to myself:

• Whatever it is that you want; create a plan of action. Make adjustments but stick to your plan.
  
• Tell yourself that you're worthy of all of the good things that life has to offer and believe that you can have it.
  
• Stop comparing and measuring yourself to society's standards. You'll never measure up if you use society as a measuring stick. Instead create your own measuring stick of success.
• If you find that people are indeed happy; be happy for them. Use their happiness as inspiration for your own life. It doesn't help you or your karma by being envious.
• If you can, limit or elimate television; it's a time and dream killer and encourages you to live passively. We all want to be entertained from time to time, but investing countless hours in watching someone else live out their dreams simply doesn't make sense to me. Is that the kind of life you want?