There is a fine line between receiving what you rightfully deserve and demanding what you think you deserve. The notion that a person is inherently worthy of all privileges and specialized treatment is hard for me to understand. I suppose that growing up with five siblings; we were required to share and to be selfless. My parents were not the best in the world. I grew up in a very dysfunctional household, but one thing my mother did was, teach us to give to others before ourselves. Not everyone practices the golden rule, and my theory is that it’s because we are not mindful of those words. What is the golden rule?
The Golden Rule is the faith in treating others as you want them to treat you.” Luke 6:31 – Do unto others as you would have them do unto you is used across the world. Religions attempt to live by the golden rule, but as I see the world moving from bad to worse, I question it. The thing is that both young and old are usually not mindful of those words. Entitlement is a learned behavior. Parents don’t realize the harm they do when giving their children everything they ask. The parents of the newer generation will make the mistake of doing that because they remember what they didn’t have.
Millennials, by nature, are often referred to as the entitled generation, but why is it that we are so quick to judge and ignore by pretending we are not the same. I’ll tell you a little story. One day I was at a children’s party, and a woman came in with her new baby. The baby was beautiful, and if the truth is known, so was the mom. All the ladies were together in the living room while the men were outside in BBQ mode. Of course, because of the new baby, the woman had all the attention. We later switched from discussing the baby to talking about how great she looked after the birth. Suddenly she noticed the baby needed changing, so she grabbed the baby bag and proceeded to change the baby. She then said, “I hate this bag, I told him (hubby) that I wanted a Gucci baby bag, and he said no.” Weeks later, I found out she had gotten the freaking Gucci bag.
There is no difference between this woman and any millennial. Men can also have this bad habit. Don’t most women make the mistake of doing “everything” for their husbands? I can understand caring for your partner, but to enable them is a different story. The funny thing is that most of the time, the enabler has its own set of internal issues. None of us is immune to wanting the easy way out, but to be handed everything the easy way is a recipe for disaster. We always want to point the finger, but we don’t like taking a long hard look at ourselves. It’s especially true when we are on the defense. In the busy times we live in, our behaviors are nothing but shameful. If anyone wants to help us, our ego goes into full motion and question the offer or even be offended by it. I say this. Is there any way we can take a long look at ourselves and stop justifying our actions. Look and analyze yourself, but if you’re not going, to be honest with yourself, you might as well not do it. If you want to live a simpler emotional life, then work hard to get to know who you are — always remember that in the process of becoming a selfless and happy person, we must first acknowledge our weaknesses, then let our guard down. Lastly, we need to be mindful of what our loved ones, friends, colleagues, and people in general need. Listen and be aware. Something as simple as giving someone the right away will give us a sense of giving.
If you are reading this, I hope you take this humble advice. Pick a day when you are calm and preferably alone. Look at a mirror for 10 minutes. Don’t stop. While you are there, DO NOT begin to look at the facial faults. You are only working with your emotional part. Think of your life, how you have lived it, and remember that NO ONE is there to hear or judge you. Cry all you want. Don’t lie to yourself. Open your heart and then make it a promise. Promise it you will begin a new by becoming mindful of the needs of others.
So; when looking at someone’s behavior, take a step back, and put yourselves in their shoes. Flip it and ask yourself how you would feel in those shoes.
Then think…. before reacting.