Another one of these times in my life that a particular word keeps resonating…..entitlement. What does it mean – according to some Google and Webster research, it means: having a right to have, do or receive something; a feeling or belief of being eligible for special privileges; or a type of financial support provided by government for a select group of recipients. I also found another interesting tidbit on this word …. It began being used in 1942 and therein may explain a great deal…..
As I have had to think about this in recent weeks, I am coming to realize that we are a society that believes we are “entitled” to everything in life….as some will call it “the good life”. If we work hard, we believe we should be compensated for our good works with a raise or a promotion. If we get all our chores done, we can go out to play, have some form of special entertainment whether it is golfing, kick-back reading or watching a marathon of television, etc. If we live a healthy lifestyle, we will not be faced with health challenges. And on and on the examples can go….
Economics, educational degrees, color of skin, being the first to arrive on the Mayflower, having the first “one blue eye and one green eye” are no more reason to receive any special and enhanced opportunities than the one who has an entrepreneurial drive and no degree, chosen to live in another country or has some rare physiological condition.
At the same time, I am the mother who was very disappointed when my daughters had to participate in the school Easter Egg Hunt and had to dump their baskets out and all eggs counted and every child given the same number of treats. Some kids are just more driven for those marshmellow treats – mine were not and they got exactly the effort they put into that activity – because they hate those things! No worry, they came home with a basket full of “yuck” due to the believe that “all” should receive equal amounts. Also, as recent as the last “big jackpot” with the lottery, the winner was entitled to everything there was to receive because of his/her investment – whether it was $6.00 or $600.00 for the ticket – no “right” here, he earned the winnings!
So, I am back to my reflections – if our individual efforts were more focused on being the best we can be in all aspects of living by keeping skills up to date and relevant, studying instead of social networking or other distractions, getting up and getting out for a jog/walk (or golfing), etc., we might just find what we deserve is directly tied to our efforts – naught from naught equals naught OR a nice big raise!!!!!
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