Full Disclosure: I thought of this "threat" over a week ago, but I put off writing about it because I didn't want all of you guys to think I was a huge brat. Honestly, what I'm about to say might alienate some people. Still, when Tink and I started this blog we promised to be honest....so here goes.
One of the biggest threats to my current and future happiness is my sense of entitelement. I was raised to believe that I was going to do big things with my life. Now that my life is finally starting, I'm sort of left wondering where all those "big things" are. Where's my big important job? My fancy apartment? My social circle populated with the witty and fabulous? My position on various charity boards and committees? In short, where is the awesomeness that I was promised?
Alright, calming down now. I know that I'm only twenty-six and that, due to attending approximately 7,000 years of schooling, I have really just started my life. Still, I sort of thought it would all be easier. I mean, the simple fact is that even though I make a good amount of money, I can't afford designer bags or takeout dinners every night...but I still sometimes buy them because honestly, I feel like I DESERVE them. I mean, after working all weekend and eating breakast, lunch, and dinner at my desk, I deserve something...right?
Taking this to a less superficial level, as some of you know, the legal industry is currently in the toilet. What this means is that people who worked hard for four years in college, passed the beast that is LSAT, aced law school classes, and did the appropriate extracurriculars still don't have jobs. They did everything right...and it didn't pay off. I know that nobody promised them anything, but aren't these people right to be a little pissed?
I think they are. But I also think that they (and me, this post is supposed to be about me) need to realize that acting/feeling entitled is not going to help any situation. It will only make others, espescially our older coworkers and superiors HATE us. I mean, a short google search of the terms "generation Y" and "entitlement" turns up over 30,000 hits. One of the articles on this issue warns that people who feel entitled are not only more apt to cause workplace conflict, but are also more likely to hate their jobs (probably because they don't feel like they're getting enough gold stars). I think this is totally spot on. I know that I need to stop feeling entitled to praise and start feeling okay with negative feedback. I also know that I need to stop feeling entitled to designer bags...because my budget simply can't cut it.
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Perhaps we are all getting what we are entitled to, but it just takes a little longer than what we are looking for. In a world full of instant gratification, the sluggish rise to the top can often seem like failure. But if we hang in there - keep chanting that to yourself - we will all find the awesomeness we dreamed of...and if not that, then the awesomeness we re-shape every day in light of growing up. Maybe we should look at it this way - the awesomeness we were promised is the carrot on the end of a stick. Wendy, aren't we all entitled to eat (and have our Prada too)?
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