En-ti-tle-ment
Eleven letters using four vowels and seven consonants making a word that has brought our nation to where it is today...
I’ll let you fill in the rest.
Entitlement means that something belongs to you or is deserved by you because, simply put, that’s how you feel.
RELATED: How Selfishness Actually Affects Us
At least once in your life, you’ve probably felt entitled to something. Maybe it was that yellow, Crayola marker that made the sun in the upper right corner of your paper shine bright. Maybe it was the Pikachu that lay staring at you as you tried to grab it with the giant black claw or with your smartphone (I mean, whatever works for you). Maybe it was that raise you were supposed to get two years ago.
I don’t care if we’re talking about markers or money, we have all felt that this world owes something to us. I can guarantee that some have even gone to great lengths to ensure they got what they believed is theirs.
Maybe these situations led to a few outbursts, tantrums, or late nights wasted in liquor. Hell, maybe they ended in all of the above. But let’s face it, we’re all entitled. We all feel that this world has something to offer us or that we deserve to be treated a certain way or handed things without have to work hard for them.
Contrary to a popular belief, nobody owes you anything.
The sense of entitlement which runs through this country is disgusting. It’s seriously everywhere. I see it in the tantrums I witness every day at work because a child didn’t want to clean up their toys. I see it in my sister as she raids through my closest because whatever I leave behind is “considered” hers. I see it in myself when I half-ass my way through an assignment and expect an “A” for all the “work” I put into it.
Some of these things are silly and quite honestly ridiculous, but these feelings happen on a daily basis and often go unnoticed. Entitlement is real and its beginning to cause some real problems. All you have to do is log onto any social media site and you’ll find everywhere. It’s like a disease that will never be cured unless people begin to open their eyes and see the reality of life.
Instead of focusing on what we feel should be granted to us, maybe we should start looking at what has already be given to us. It’s not about what people can do for us or what the world owes to us. It’s about what YOU can do and the blessings of your life.
Every single day you are blessed with so much more than you could ever deserve. Think about it. Truly think about everything that you have been given. From the moment you wake up, you have been given a new day, another breath, another shot to make someone’s day, and another chance to make the world a better place. How awesome is that?
Let’s replace entitlement with gratitude and start being thankful.
