Reflection #41 Creeping Entitlement
The Gap Year, by Patricia D. Brown
Go forth in peace, for you have followed the good road. --Clare of Assisi
I’ve been convicted of the sin of entitlement. I define entitlement as believing that life owes us. We’ve worked hard for what we’ve accomplished, and therefore are entitled to certain rewards or accolades. Right?
Entitlement can creep up on us. Creeping entitlement is why we get angry when we are kept waiting longer than expected. Or why we feel hurt when we are not asked to sit in a place of honor. It’s feeling brushed off when an invitation that once came doesn’t. It’s very easy to go from being grateful for acts of kindness to being disgruntled when someone doesn’t offer what we’d hoped or think they should.
I have to admit that I cringe a bit when I sheepishly use my senior discounts. (I was much poorer when young and first married.) I’m happy when retailers give us a break and museums and movie theaters shave a few dollars off. I don’t say no. Perhaps age does allow some privileges, but it is not a free pass. I deserve the respect owed to elders, but preferential treatment has its limits. Older people like me – like younger ones— need to curb their sense of entitlement.
Push aside entitlement, first, by being self-reliant. If you can, carry your own bags, open your own doors, and respond to your emails and text messages. Don’t cancel an appointment without an extraordinary reason. These may be small acts, but you get the idea. Don’t exempt yourself from the rules that you expect everyone else to follow. If entitlement has crept into your life, snap out of it! Of course, you’re special, but not that special.
Here is my last thought on this subject. Let’s get out of our own way. And, let’s not expect what we’ve been in the past to make our present. Our works of yesterday do not entitle us to anything except another shot at today.
Now it’s your turn.
Take time to reflect and if in a group, share as you feel able.
I think:
a)I’ve worked hard for what I’ve accomplished, and am entitled to rewards.
b)I deserve the respect owed to elders.
c)I don’t exempt myself from the rules that I expect everyone else to follow.
d) My works of yesterday do not entitle me to anything except another shot at today.