When I was in elementary school I contracted a case of “tick fever.” I was puny enough that the doctor was called, which didn’t happen often. The offending critter was found under my hair at the nape of my neck and urged to relocate with a hot match and a pair of tweezers. After that, mandatory tick checks became part of every outdoor activity. I still feel a little woozy when I find one. It’s disturbing that something can latch on to us, feed off our life force, and cause illness, without us even knowing it’s there.
Being entitled is a lot like being tick-infested. It’s a parasitic behavior pattern.
To be entitled, according to the dictionary, is “believing oneself to be inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment.”
That belief can come from multiple sources. Being a “native” to a town or a state or a country can give us a sense of entitlement like somehow the rules that apply to newcomers and tourists shouldn’t apply to us because we’re “from” a place. Having a lot of money — or just more money than the neighbors — can cause some folks to act in an entitled way. Being very passionate about something can trigger entitled behavior… after all, you love that hobby/religion/sport/subject so much, surely everyone else should feel the same way and give it (you) special favors. Sometimes the elderly fall into this trap — “I’ve lived so long and had everything so hard that I deserve special privileges, dadgummit.”
Living this way seems pretty miserable. No matter what special privileges you manage to gather up for yourself, they don’t provide satisfaction. And when you don’t get preferential treatment, you have resentment brewing inside.
A bad case of being entitled can attack anyone, at any time. No one is immune. As with most bad behavior, it’s easier to spot in others than it is in ourselves. When we find ourselves expecting special treatment or feeling resentful when we don’t get it, or thinking someone should bend the rules for us, or do something extra because… well, just because we deserve it… that’s a sign it’s time for an entitlement check.
