You’re not entitled to anything.
Entitlement is your worst enemy.
The thinking that since I have accomplished X, then I’m deserving of Y is not going to get you anywhere. Even though you completed X successfully, Y is not guaranteed to happen.
Some people even think that they are deserving of both X and Y without doing anything to achieve it. What can I say? They will never make anything out of their lives.
You’re not entitled to anything.
No one owes you anything.
It’s never your turn just because you think that now it should really be your turn. That you’ve waited long enough. Patiently. Just waiting will not get you anywhere.
People who are all of a sudden discovered on the street and picked up to immediate fame are very rare. Yet, it’s those people that we talk about. Dream about. I guess since we talk so much about them, we fool ourselves into believing that it happens a lot more often than it does. So we wait to be picked ourselves. You can wait all your life. Better to choose yourself than waiting for something that never will be.
That sense of entitlement is your worst enemy. It can really wreck the going forward motion for anyone. It paralyzes you and prevents you from being creative. Because why should you bother? You know that this time around it has to be your turn. You’ve waited long enough.
So how can you overcome this sense of entitlement? What can you replace it with to get going towards choosing yourself? To not wait to be picked.
Practice being grateful instead.
Being grateful makes you appreciate things in life more. Be grateful for every little thing that happens to you. Instead of saying to yourself that you deserved something, replace that with being grateful for what just happened.
No matter how small an event, be grateful for it and say thank you. Even if you don’t want to say it out loud, say it in your head. Stop taking things for granted. Learn to be grateful for them instead.
Begin every morning by listing three things that you are grateful for. Try to come up with new things. Big or small. In doing so, you’ll begin to notice that you have a lot to be grateful for.
In the evening, before you go to sleep, think about your day. List three things that happened today that you are grateful for. Try to find gratitude even in the difficult moments.
Maybe you had a conflict at work with a colleague. Even if it was a difficult situation, try to find pieces of gratitude. Perhaps that you kept your cool even though you were shouted at. Maybe the incident can help you come up with a different strategy for dealing with a similar situation. Or maybe the argument spurred you even more in your quest for looking for another occupation.
A side effect of replacing entitlement with gratitude is that you’ll complain less and less. It’s difficult to complain when your mind is set on gratitude. The good thing is that it’s contagious. When others notice that their complaining doesn’t trigger the expected reaction from you, they are likely to stop. Or they might stop associating with you, but that’s their loss, not yours. Becoming a more grateful, less whiney person will make you more likable and people will want to be around you.
Try it out.
Start a gratitude journal and set your mind on being grateful. After a few weeks, you’ll notice the difference.
Keep going, it only gets better.
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