For All The Justin Biebers Out There: 5 Reasons Entitlement Will Ruin You

Within the past decade, a sense of entitlement has infected our society, subtly spiraling out of control, trickling down each generation and poisoning work ethic, empathy and appreciation.

We’ve all seen it before: A child has a temper-tantrum in the store, demands the latest and greatest toy seen on TV. The embarrassed parent basically shoves money in the kid’s pocket to shut him or her up in order to avoid a scene. Innocent enough?

But then, we wonder why people like Justin Bieber exist. They consider themselves to be above the law, peeing in mop buckets as drunken jokes, buying expensive cars, jewelry and treating women as disposable because, hey, they’re entitled to do whatever the hell they want — they “worked” for it.

News flash: No matter how hard you may have worked, you’re never permitted to act above anyone else in this world, which is something that our generation often forgets.

As tired as you may be of hearing your grandparents talk about “back in my day” stories, it isn’t a coincidence that their generation never let things fall apart as easily as we do.

It’s no wonder that divorce rates are through the roof. We’re too busy looking for something better instead of appreciating what we already have. Here are five reasons why entitlement will ruin you:

Taking, but never giving.

Kindness is a two-way street. You cannot receive kindness without reciprocating it because, otherwise, it will never go anywhere. If your parents worked hard to give you luxuries in life, be grateful for their generosity — and for them.

Understand the difference between true hardships and privileges. If you crash your BMW and your parents replace it with a hand-me-down Ford Focus, it’s not the end of the world.

You should still be pretty damn grateful you’re not walking to the bus stop. If you constantly accept privileges without any sense of gratitude, you’ll have a hard time finding the simple joys in life.

You’ll never be satisfied.

Life owes you nothing. Never expect anything out of life, for if you do, you’ll be sorely disappointed time and time again. By expecting the world to be served to you on a silver platter, you’ll never be satisfied.

You’ll constantly be looking for something else to satisfy your unfulfilled happiness and you’ll never blissfully live life in the moment. As clichéd as it may sound, life is a gift so appreciate every day.

Expecting immediate results.

We’re repeatedly reminded that a white picket fence will never come our way unless we get ourselves a decent education. For some, an education is to be expected while, for others, it may be a gift.

And, just because you have a college degree does not mean you will stumble out of college with a $100,000-paying job. You’re never above an entry-level job, regardless of how smart you are. It’s not an immediate process, so appreciate the journey.

Demanding more and working less.

You may not always realize it, but entitlement can be a sneaky bastard. Do you ever find yourself ranting about how you’ve worked hard for this, so you obviously deserve that? Or, your boss never appreciates the work you do, so you’ll find a company that constantly rewards you for doing your job?

Obviously, it’s called work for a reason. An ego filled too densely with expectations can land itself in trouble. You’ll get further in life if you embrace hard work rather than expect something for nothing.

Thinking you’re above physical labor.

As technology transforms our world, true physical labor is transforming, too. A shovel and plow are no longer the top contributors in our economy and coding has become the physical gold. Our generation sometimes believes our innovative brains are driving this world forward, which makes us above grungy work. Again: Big mistake.

If you can find yourself embracing both physical and mental work, you’ll get significantly further in this world. People will relate to you better and you’ll certainly have a greater sense of empathy for the people who aren’t afraid to get a little bit of dirt on their hands.

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