You are not entitled to everything you want

Today we talk about entitlement. 

Specifically that there seems to be a huge sense of it with some youth these days. They expect way too much and have no sense of gratitude for what they do have.

It isn't all kids, I want to state that up front, there are some truly good kids and twenty somethings that have their head on straight and realize that good jobs don't grow on trees and all 8 year olds do not need the latest iPhone.

And, I hope that we can raise Miss K to be one of these kids. I have a good full time job and so does Big C, we make more than most as far as annual income goes. I won't deny that we have more means to do stuff or buy whatever than many, but that does not mean that I won't instil a sense of hard work and integrity in my kid. Life is not going to be handed to you on silver platter and you are not going to win at everything.

We have a young lad at work, lets call him John for sake of giving him a name. He is doing very well in the job that he is in. I don't work directly with him, but deal with him or have contact with him on a daily basis. He grasped the concepts of the job and has added some responsibilities not usually associated with the position. He's pleasant to deal with and is generally well liked.

All good right? Not so much. John pisses us off because he does do a good job, but has an awful work ethic. He shows up late, takes tons of vacation or unpaid time off, calls in sick on a regular basis, so much so that he cannot be counted on to be present for an entire week at a time.

John doesn't seem to care either. He wants to get a place of his own but feels he needs to make more money to do so. Not equating anywhere in there that you need to work a full week and show that you do a good job and can be reliable to making more moolah.

It's sad, because he's going to lose his job and not have any clue that he did anything wrong. He feels he's entitled to more because it's what he wants, not necessarily a fact of life, but if he wants it he's entitled to it.

I won't discourage positive thought, but its like wanting to win a million dollars and not buying a ticket. You can win unless you play. You are not going to get further ahead in your job, if you don't show up everyday and show you are able to take on the responsibility of working a full week without buggering off to do something with your friends.

And don't even get me started on kids who have iPhones and tablets and other things coming out the wazoo because they will "just die" if they don't have one. Cut the crap jack, you're not going to die. 

You will die if you don't have food, water, a decent roof over your head, clothing etc…life is not going to end if you can't tweet/text/instagram your friends or whatever the cool thing is to do these days.

So many kids get gifts for their birthdays and can't even bother with a thank you. They just take the cash or gift for granted and move on. 

I'm pretty old fashioned when it comes to that stuff. You are not entitled to a gift for your birthday, if someone chooses to bring one or send one, then you should be grateful for the action, and say so.

I was very encouraged by Miss K this past birthday, or should I say after her birthday. My aunt had taken a fair number of pictures of Miss K at her party. She printed them and assembled them in an album and mailed it to us. Miss K was thrilled at getting mail and said shortly after opening that we must call and say thanks.

Good for you kiddo, I would have done so anyway for myself as I enjoyed the pictures too, but I was encouraged that maybe she's got some sense of gratitude not found in most 5 year olds.

We called straight away, we could only leave a message, but Miss K did the majority of the talking herself and that was enough for me. Too many times people do things that my aunt did and it seems like it falls on deaf ears. You never know if the gift was received or if the person liked it or anything.

I still send thank you notes from time to time. I may soon resort to thank you emails as the cost of a postage stamp has gotten beyond stupid, but I digress. It's the effort to say thanks, its the effort to work for what you have, it's not thinking that you are entitled to everything just because you think it should be so.

I hope that I can teach all that to my kid. Yes, we have the means to buy her most things that she could want, but wanting and necessity are two different animals. Yes, you should feel that you can achieve or do anything, but you must realize that you are not going to get a trophy every time you play a game or do a good deed. 

Hard work is just that, hard. If you don't work hard at anything you never get to see what the rewards are. Be grateful and show that gratitude, and parents make sure your kids actually say thanks for a gift or help or whatever. Show them that stuff they want doesn't just show up in their room because they say they want it.

Guide your youngsters to be self sufficient, to realize that they may have it better than most, the value of integrity and doing a good job and maybe we'll escape the cycle of entitled youngsters that feel the world owes them something instead of the other way around.

Til next time…pay it forward and give thanks