You are NOT Prepared

Sense of Entitlement

Sometimes I wonder where people in this day and age got their sense of entitlement.  Why do they believe the world owes them something?  Why do they think that just because I have something, that gives them the right to it as well?  Why do they think that everything should be handed to them as long as they want it bad enough?  People really have no common sense.

Let’s start at the beginning.  When you are a child, before your tweens, you try and find out what you are good at.  You try to find out what you are passionate about.  You try to find out where your strengths are, and along with that, your weaknesses.  This journey takes you from that young age, an age of discovery and trial and error….  it takes you through your tweens, where you form more of your own opinions, influenced quite a bit by your friends, and less by your family…  into your teens, where you attempt to strengthen your sense of self, and explore more and more who you will be…  it takes you into your young adult life where you start to explore your passions, and chase your dreams….  succeeding or failing along the way…  it’s a path to learning…  what works and does not work…  You learn to stay away from what you have learned does not work, change the way you think and act, so that your passions and dreams can still be revealed.  

Well, let’s throw a wrench into this whole journey of discovery.  No matter what you attempt to do, we are going to give you a trophy for it.  It does not matter if you succeed or fail.  You will be told you are good, and rewarded for it.  You will get awarded for missing that shot, losing that race, failing.  Do you know why?  Because you deserve it.  You deserve to be called a winner.  You deserve a trophy.  You deserve to feel special.  

You deserve a trophy because they got a trophy.  You deserve to be called a winner because your team won.  You deserve to feel special because you tried.  The problem is…  so does everyone else…  How does this make you feel special?

When everyone gets a trophy for everything, it makes everyone average.

Don’t worry, you don’t have to work to succeed, because you will get a trophy anyway.  That ribbon at the end of the line will be given to you, and the person next to you, and the person in front of you, and the 3 people behind you….  So guess what?   Don’t stress yourself out…  Don’t try.  You don’t have to.  The rewards are the same if you work hard, or if you slack off…  So just relax, and sit back, and collect the rewards.  

Reality Check Time

The problem with this whole entitlement outlook is that it is not the way the world works when you become an adult.  Companies will not hire mediocre students who feel they are entitled to the job, just because they show up for the interview.  Sports contracts are not awarded to mediocre athletes who love the game, but just do the bare minimum to scrape by.  Grants are not given to lazy scientists who don’t bother to do the research, and are not passionate about what they do.  We are setting society up to fail.  

Unemployment and Welfare

It seems instead of changing the way adults think and act is also not the plan of the day.  We instead want to award them for their lazy lifestyles.  People learn to game the current system so they can do as little as possible for as long as possible.  

Unemployment was meant to be a middle ground between losing your job, and finding a new one.  Up until now you have been a productive member of society.  For whatever reason, you have fallen, made some mistakes, took a wrong turn.  Don’t worry.  Here is some money for the next six months.  Get back on your feet, learn from your mistakes, and continue on.  This is great when it works.  It gives the down and out person the ability to once again become a productive member of society.  The government also offers training in case it is needed for career changes, or topping off your current set of skills to land that interview, and move on to being hired.

The problem with this is the whole welfare system.  Families that are on welfare are using is as their only means to a payday.  They do bare minimum to be considered eligible for welfare, and they do the maximum amount of work to make sure they stay on welfare.  Don't get it twisted.  There are those who can't work.  They may disabled mentally or physically.  These people do deserve the help required to keep them from falling through the cracks.  These are not the people I am referring to.  When you have the ability to work, and choose not to, because the government is paying your way you need to think about it.  It is not the government that is footing the bill.  The tax payers that ARE working are the reason you can continue NOT to work.  That is a slap in the face to those that are working. 

Minimum Wage Jobs

Minimum wage jobs are NOT meant to be career paths.  These jobs are a necessary part of any economy, but they require very little training for workers to be competent enough to perform the duties required, and most likely excel at said duties.  These jobs are suited for younger first time workers, or part time workers who need to spend their time elsewhere, either at another job, or continuing their education.  If the jobs are not offering enough for you to reach your financial obligations, you have a few options.  The first is to stop spending above your means.  It's not easy, but it is called a BUDGET.  You can also increase the hours you work at your current job, or find another job to supplement.  You can also pursue extended education so you can move up to bigger and better things.