The Entitlement Plague

I believe entitlement is one of the biggest plagues in our society.  The feeling and belief that someone owes us something or that we have the right to something without any effort on our own destroys our peace and satisfaction in life.  It also causes us to do things or to not do things that would otherwise improve our life and help us get ahead.  The effects of this type of attitude are widespread and rapidly growing—indeed it is sad to say we are an entitled people.

All of this came to a head for me this week.  I was invited to give a presentation to a team of healthcare professionals at a rehabilitation center.  As part of the event, the leaders of the group purchased many nice giveaways and gifts for their staff hoping to pump them up and to help them have a great experience while learning.  On top of this they also had a cook-out for them and provided them with an amazing meal and lots of good food.  As an “outsider” I was impressed by the leaders’ efforts, time, money, and energy they put in to the event to ensure everyone had a great time.  Despite what I perceived to be a great party for the staff, many of the team members complained, showed little interest, and even openly mocked and grumbled about the gifts that were given away—and they were really nice!  I was dumbfounded and saddened by the total lack of appreciation and gratitude displayed by this team—it made me feel bad for them and for those they serve.  And wouldn’t you know it, as only seemed appropriate based on my experience thus far, the housekeeper who I was cleaning the room with after the event let me know she wasn’t happy with her gift.   

Now clearly this event spoke to the team’s culture, and perhaps maybe even represented poor decisions and leadership within the organization but regardless, the overall sense of entitlement that was felt and shown from mostly the entire team was very discouraging and disheartening to me.  To be honest, I left wondering if there was anything the leaders could have done to make this group happy, and I believe the answer is regrettably no.  As I reflected on this event in my hotel room later that evening I wondered how often I act like the staff did.  I thought about my personal feelings and actions of entitlement and the many times I act as if somebody owes me something special.  As I did this, I came to the awful realization that in many instances I am no better than this staff.       

So how do we fight entitlement in our own lives?  How do we stay grounded and willing to do whatever it takes to get ahead and be successful?  How do we avoid the feeling that we have the right to certain privileges or that we are owed something by others whatever our reasons may be?  This is a true challenge and test in our super entitled day and age.  And the reality is that not very many people really owe us that much at all.  With these thoughts in mind, I want to challenge each of us to recognize and overcome our feelings and actions of entitlement.  Only by fighting this curse within us will we be able to achieve the level of success we hope to achieve, and obtain lasting peace and satisfaction.