How Do You Spot Entitlement?

I’ve noticed that in the midst of great abundance there is an equal and opposite reaction: entitlement. It seems to be human nature that the more you get, the more you want.

I grew up with telephone party lines, with one line for five or six residences. Sometimes you had to wait 1/2 hour to make a phone call. Now I get impatient with my cell phone provider when I get a dropped call and have to redial with the push of one button.

The reverse of this also seems true. My mother lived through the Depression in a 900 square foot shack with nine siblings, enduring years of unimaginable poverty. She was void of entitlement. She taught me that with every right comes a responsibility. When she was close to death she said, “After 78 years, I accept death. I was fortunate just to have lived!”
Joyce did not even feel entitled to life itself. Hard times appear to be an ally in countering entitlement.

There are some key differences to observe between personal responsibility and entitlement.