Entitlement

I needed a word to describe a certain behavior that I had been witnessing in people. A word that encompasses all the adjectives I was using to describe certain people who felt they were better than others and deserved special treatment. Then I heard the word “entitlement.” That’s exactly the word I was looking for.

I’m sure you have experienced this breed of people who feel as if standing in line is only for people in third world countries. They also don’t believe in having to work hard to get what they want. They want short cuts, and won’t let anyone stand in their way.

If you are an employer, you might witness some of this behavior in some 20- to 30-year-olds. They don’t want to enter a job in an intern position, they want to be the president of the company. Now!

In my small celebrity world, I’m always fascinated to see the entitled people who will knock Evan over to get a picture with me because they believe being my “No. 1 fan” entitles them to do it.

I could have ended this blog by wrapping it all up with, “Hey entitled people, hate to break this to you, but you are no better than anyone else. Now shut up and go to the back of the line!” And I’m sure I would of had some of your support with comments like, “Heck yeah, I know those people! They drive me nuts, too!”

But my damn spiritual alarm went off. I blog so much about, “Whatever bothers you is your problem, not the annoying person.” So it’s only fair I figure this out in front of you.

OK, so why do entitled people bother me? I’ll start with work ethic. I’ve been working since I was 14. I started washing dishes at an ice cream shop and I haven’t stopped working since. I’ve been non-stop grinding the work ladder and finally feel that at age 40, I have a job that matches my desire. I see interns and assistants in jobs around me who think doing the small stuff is beneath them, and when I think about the dishes I washed and gross jobs I had to work in order to make my way, I get angry at them. I know that’s not fair.

So when I look deeper into this, I’m essentially angry because … I’m jealous of them. Ugh! That rings true in me. I’m jealous of them. I want them to start at the bottom like I did, and suffer like I did. How stupid is that? Why do I care how anyone gets what they want? Some people have to take side streets to get to their desires, while others take the freeway.

So now I have to figure out how to let go of my jealousy in this situation. How do I do that? Hmm. I’ll try gratitude. Let me think of what was good about taking the side street instead of the freeway to get to my work desire.

Here’s what I came up with …

People always say its not the destination that’s awesome, it’s the journey that you took to get there. Looking back at that statement as it relates to my own life made my heart just burst open. I loved cashiering at the polish grocery store. I loved being a waitress. I loved working for an amusement park. If I would have taken the freeway, I would have missed out on all of these experiences. Just found gratitude!

Also, when I see those people who jump lines or cut me off in the last minute to make a right turn when I have been waiting in the right turn lane for an hour, I now realize its because I’m jealous I don’t have the jackass quality that they have to have in order to just do it without caring!

So, entitled people, I free you from my own angst. You are free to take any road you choose, and I will continue to work on my jealousy issues. Except if you push Evan out of the way — then I’ll kick your entitled ass to the ground!