ENTITLEMENT MENTALITY.
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Over the years, I have slowly but surely realized a trend which has eaten deep into the core of human tradition. Humans have accommodated this act of irresponsibility with open arms and they even “sit pretty” in positions that justify their claim to the trend.
This shameful but comfortable trend is “ENTITLEMENT MENTALITY”.
According to conservapedia, an entitlement mentality is a state of mind in which an individual comes to believe privileges are instead rights, and they are to be expected as a matter of course. This mentality is characterised by lack of personal responsibility, inability to accept that actions carry consequences, lack of appreciation for the sacrifices of others and so much more.
The truth is nobody is born with a set of characters or ideologies, we grow into them and pick them up as we journey through life. Many people blame others- parents, friends, relatives, church, school, job - for their failures because they believe they deserve “more” from them. People often live in a bubble where they expect that things be handed over to them simply because others are “obliged or obligated” to do it.
In our present-day entitlement mentality has eaten so deep that people now expect to get things at a cheap price or at no price at all once it’s a relative or friend that offers the service. Many people lay claim to the wealth of family members expecting financial back-up at every point in time and anything short of that would be as a result of the family members being “selfish”.
No, I am not preaching against helping family members, bargaining or doing “giveaways”, but it is important to realize that your lack of planning does not equal emergency for someone else. Everyone has the right to spend their time, money and other resources as they deem fit and are not under any obligation to help you. Getting help in time of need, getting jobs from a person you know, or even getting a lift in a person’s car is not due to the fact that you “deserve” it but it’s simply a privilege you happen to enjoy out of the other person’s goodwill.
But this is just pointing out the problem, what do we do?
As always, the first thing is admitting the problem. We will be deceiving ourselves if we claim we do not have the entitlement mentality. This is something that has been tattooed into our individual heads by the society and by our families. A child by default feels entitled to gifts from visitors, areas of concentration for an exam and free rides when he knows the cab driver or happens to come across a known older person in the cab. So, we must all truthfully accept the fact that we operate on this mentality. Admitting our faults is the very first step!
Then we have to consciously work on ourselves. Remember no one actually owes you anything, remember to be grateful for whatever you receive and always remember that because a person helped you once (or even more than once) does not mean you automatically get help from him (or her) again. Always choose to remember that you are solely responsible for your life and no one else would suffer the consequences of your actions!
“Teach your children gratefulness. Do all you can to deliver them from our culture’s poisonous entitlement mentality”- Randy Alcorn, a New York Times bestselling author. We can create the future we want, a future rid of the thoughts that a person “deserves” all the help or attention. Pass this knowledge down. Let it be the lyric to your every song.
NB: Do not feed the attitude of an irresponsible entitled person around you. Like Abraham Lincoln said “You cannot help men permanently by doing what they could and should do for themselves.
Member of NIMELSSA EDITORIAL TEAM 19/20
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