Is this emotion envy?

Solution 1:

I would recommend being careful when using the word Envy

From your descriptions, I feel like you are describing someone's disappointment in their-self as much as a desire for them to have what someone else has.

I am hearing more "longing" or wishful even a type of "wistfulness" (which implies more that you regret not doing what they've done rather than wanting what they don't have)

Still it is a hard decision because Wistful would NOT express that you wanted what someone ELSE had, only that you wanted something you didn't have.

There are multiple definitions of wistful - I am including one (some other definitions of the word emphasize nostalgia or the longing for something past)

Wistful definition excerpt from Dictionary.com

British Dictionary definitions for wistful wistful /ˈwɪstfʊl/ adjective

1. sadly pensive, especially about something yearned for

Contrast that to Envy (I bolded resentful)

Envy at Oxford Dictionaries NOUN

1A feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else's possessions, qualities, or luck.

The synonyms to envy that Thesaurus.com gives are even more suggestive (atlhough Envy doesn't quite go this far)

hatred illwill malice prejudice resentment rivalry backbiting coveting covetousness enviousness grudge grudging heartburn lusting malevolence maliciousness malignity opposition spite

It is up to you what should be emphasized.

I would suggest that using words like Envy, or Jealousy would describe a person's feelings in a way not only wishful for what they did not have, but also some degree of bad feelings toward the other person (maybe only a small degree, but some)

Solution 2:

inspired might be how you feel. You are inspired by the accomplishments of your friends to want to achieve the same thing yourself. To be inspired is very different from being envious of another's accomplishments or possessions.

inspire (MW)

a : to influence, move, or guide by divine or supernatural inspiration

b : to exert an animating, enlivening, or exalting influence on was particularly inspired by the Romanticists

c : to spur on : impel, motivate threats don't necessarily inspire people to work

d : affect seeing the old room again inspired him with nostalgia

Solution 3:

For a slightly "older" word, you might consider that you covet their skills, or are covetous of their experiences. It still carries some slight negative connotations, but not as much as envy does.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/covet

Definition of covet

transitive verb

1 : to wish for earnestly covet an award