Entitled vs Empowered: What’s the Difference?
Many young people get the label of being entitled.
The older generation says that the younger generation does not know how to put in the work.
I would say a lot of people from the older generation are just as entitled.
It’s often those who are lobbying insults at the younger generation that are the biggest whiners in their own lane.
The people who want handouts often believe they are empowered.
But they are far from it.
Being empowered happens after paying your dues.
And you don’t pay your dues once and call it a day.
You pay your dues for life.
Each chapter will require a new you.
The second you stop paying your dues is the second you creep into the entitled territory.
The Veteran Co-Workers
I used to work in a Fortune 500 company.
There were big buildings with plenty of floors.
Within the floors were a variety of workers.
I worked in the IT department.
A lot of the people in the IT department were older.
I would say around the 40-60s range.
They would proudly announce how they paid their dues:
‘I have been in this company for 27 years.’
Wow!
These guys really did put in the work.
Around the time, my company was hiring an internship class.
The company wanted young talent that they could eventually transfer into full-time roles.
The interns were young.
They all had a bright look in their eyes.
They were now coming into these old people’s territory…
The Whining Old Men
The thing with IT (information technology) is that it never stands still.
There are new processes being adopted every day.
A lot of the elder statesmen didn’t like this.
They’d defiantly say:
‘Back in my days, we didn’t have to click all these buttons! Things were more straightforward.’
Whenever new processes were rolled out, the veteran workers would complain a lot.
Rather than adjust, they would huddle around the water coolers and talk crap about their bosses.
On the other hand, the interns adapted without much fuss.
Since these guys were younger, they grew up with technology.
They liked learning new things.
When the older workers would see the younger workers enthusiastically adopting the new processes…
The older workers tried to deflate their enthusiasm.
‘Are you really okay with putting in more work like this?’
The interns didn’t think it was a big deal.
So, they just nodded their heads.
These veterans weren’t acting like people who put in their dues.
They were acting entitled.
Entitled vs. Empowered
Entitled people think they deserve stuff.
Empowered people believe they must earn stuff.
That’s the core difference.
What’s spooky is that empowered people can easily revert back to being entitled.
How do children act, entitled or empowered?
Most of them act entitled.
When they see something they like in the candy store, they say ‘mine.’
They believe they have ‘earned’ ice cream after a long day of doing nothing.
And they will cry if they don’t get their way.
These kids represent the human’s core state.
We are born entitled.
We must exercise ourselves to be empowered.
Which is difficult to do.
A lot of these veteran workers were empowered for many ages.
That’s what allowed them to be in the company for so long.
But just because they were empowered in their 40s did not mean they would be empowered in their 50s.
They went from believing they must earn stuff to now thinking they deserved stuff.
How to Fight an Entitled Attitude
One of the most toxic people out there are those who are entitled but think they are empowered.
They are problem-unaware and think they are making some sort of difference.
One way to fight off the entitled attitude is to realize that the ground is ALWAYS crumbling beneath your feet.
Maintenance is an illusion.
You know how it feels like the earth is still?
But it’s not…
It is rotating around the sun.
Same with life.
Things feel still.
But they’re not.
Things are always rotating, moving, breaking, reemerging, and more.
When you realize this, you build the mindset of:
‘I mustn’t rest on my laurels. Because tomorrow, there may be new processes that my work adopts that deem me irrelevant.’
A lot of these whiney veteran workers were fired, one by one.
The IT field does not like whiners.
You whine too long, and your job will get automated by a PowerShell script.
It was sad because I saw people who were on the VERGE of retiring getting fired.
They were shocked to be packing up 27 years of memories in a tiny cardboard box.
They were even more shocked when they were escorted out.
Now they had to start over.
Unfortunately, they were starting over with an entitled attitude.
Hopefully, the experience of getting fired allowed them to see that the ground is always crumbling beneath their feet.
Are You Entitled?
I won’t lie…
Entitlement creeps into my life every now and then.
One of the time’s entitlement creeps in is when I’m driving.
I love it when the roads follow my orders.
When I want a green light, I’m given a green light.
When I want to go first, I go first.
I can’t stand it when I keep hitting red lights.
Or when a walker is walking slowly in front of me as I’m driving.
And when cars abruptly cut me off.
I feel entitled.
Others should respect my time and understand that I have places to go.
But here’s the truth of the matter:
- EVERYONE ON THE ROAD HAS SOMEWHERE TO GO.
Entitlement creeps in.
I must push it aside.
‘Everyone has places to go, Armani. You’re not special.’ I remind myself.
After I remind myself that I am not entitled to any special privilege, I feel empowered to exercise patience as I wait in traffic.
For More Strategies to Unlock a Growth Mindset, be sure to Check Out My Book:
- Level Up Mentality: A Guide to Re-Engineer Your Mindset for Confidence.
