A buddy’s big announcement doubles as a pop quiz. Cheering loud, or quietly auditing every shortfall in your life?

Someone else’s good news is one of the more revealing moments available, because the reaction arrives before you have time to choose it. Genuine gladness and a quick internal inventory of your own position can both show up, sometimes together. Noticing which came first is information rather than an accusation.

Watch your own first response next time and do not argue with it. Then choose the second response deliberately: say the specific congratulation out loud, in full. If the inventory was loud, take it seriously later, on its own, since it is usually pointing at something you want and have not admitted.