"Underestimating the Long Term, and overestimating the Short Term.” Those who live under the umbrella of entitlement fail to see the benefit of hard work. They may work hard but they are quick to stop working hard if the result is not immediate. Most people, especially American youth who have been brought up in a culture of “entitlement”, are conditioned to receive immediate results and if those results aren’t positive, then giving up is a viable option. Our grandparent’s generation was conditioned to work hard for weeks and months and years with no sign of any reward. They worked hard with the “hope” that something good “may” come someday. That culture created a work ethic that resulted in Space Travel and the personal computer. Entitlement is unfortunately a condition brought about by our environment. Parents want their kids to have it easier than they had it so they make life easier. They do the work so the child doesn’t have to. They drive the kid to practice instead of telling them to ride their bike. They do this out of love but this love leads the child to expect rides everywhere. Entitlement has allowed certain industries and businesses to thrive (Apps for our I-phones (mostly games), Starbucks, and anything else that allows us to have it and have it now and have it anywhere. It is more natural to feel entitled than to be persistent. It isn’t our fault. We have been conditioned this way. However, we will only reach our full potential when we persevere. Entitlement leads to giving up. Persistence leads to growth (James 1:2-4). In order to reverse the trend of feeling more and more entitled, we must be intentional about working hard over a long period of time without any certainty of success. Being a successful athlete is a great way to reverse the condition of entitlement.
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