James Hong, a co-founder of Hotornot.com, a dating site, found that his $55,000 Porsche Boxster had come to symbolize the trap he often saw others in Silicon Valley fall into. Mr. Hong, 33, says Hotornot’s success allowed him “a very comfortable life without ever needing to get a job — freedom money, as they call it.” But he nonetheless saw himself succumbing to the envy malaise.

After all, his best friend, Max Levchin, was a founder of PayPal and has a net worth probably in the tens of millions.

So in a conspicuous move to get out of the game, Mr. Hong has decided to sell his sports car and has bought a Toyota Prius.

“I don’t want to live the life of a Boxster, because when you get a Boxster you wish you had a 911,” he said, referring to a much more expensive Porsche. “And you know what people who have 911s wish they had? They wish they had a Ferrari.”

It was a wise move to de-escalate. 

I remember when a Wall St. Journal or a NY Times spread was what they all used to envy!

Envy is a game nobody wins. Because it never gets better and there's always more to want. 

And it's inconsistent with a sense of gratitude.

True that, Geege. True that.