Why we secretly celebrate when successful people fail – and why psychology says it's okay

July 19, 2026 - 08:25

Do you feel a strange, almost guilty relief when someone else stumbles? You are not alone. That quiet flicker of satisfaction when a high-flying colleague misses a promotion or a celebrity faces a public downfall has a name: Schadenfreude. Psychologist Esther Boada explains that this feeling is more common than we admit, and it does not make you a bad person.

Boada argues that Schadenfreude often stems from social comparison. When someone else's success makes us feel inadequate, their failure can restore a sense of fairness in our own minds. It is a psychological reset button. "We secretly celebrate because their fall levels the playing field," Boada notes. This is especially true when we perceive the successful person as undeserving or arrogant.

However, the feeling can become toxic if it turns into a habit. Constant comparison breeds envy, which eats away at self-worth. Boada suggests a simple antidote: shift your focus from others to your own goals. Instead of measuring your life against someone else's highlight reel, celebrate your small wins. Acknowledge the feeling of Schadenfreude when it appears, but do not feed it. Ask yourself what your own success looks like, independent of anyone else's failure. That is the real path to peace.