I was sitting quietly one day and thinking about the time and the season that I happened to be living in. What came to mind was Generation “E”. As I thought about Generation E two words resonated that really got me to thinking: entitlement and enablers.
Entitlement is the belief that one is inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment, “It is mine, it belongs to me…. I deserve it. I am worthy of it. It is my right to be served, to be treated a certain way, and to benefit regardless of whether or not I have worked for it or earned it.” Those words may not be said outright but the attitude is there none the less.
An enabler is someone who helps negate the consequences brought on by someone else’s behavior. An enabler is someone who promotes a specific type of behavior in another person. For instance, every time they get in a jam you are “Johnny on the spot” bailing them out and eventually it becomes a vicious cycle. Nothing changes. Their behavior does not change, and you don’t either! Instead of helping them become responsible for their own actions you step in and they will keep on doing the same things because they know that you will always come to the rescue.
How did we get in this predicament? Was it because we thought that we had it hard and did not want our children to go through the things that we did? Guess what those things that we endured did not kill us. We made it without being enabled and they will too.
This may be hard to hear for some of you reading this because you are the one who feels that you are owed something. Your attitude stinks and you do not take responsibility for anything! You are lazy and want everything handed to you on a silver platter. You just want what you want.
This may be hard to hear for some of you reading this because you are an enabler. You are afraid of the backlash that you will receive if you do not come to the rescue. You have given in to the temper tantrums and the guilt trips and allowed yourself to be manipulated and controlled. It is time to admit it and make an intelligent decision that it STOPS today! It is time for everyone to change. Will it happen overnight? Probably not. But that is no reason for you not to start right now. The first thing is to admit that you are a part of the problem. You are the key to getting the monster that you created turned around. Some of you might say, “Been there, did that.” Then share how you got free. It could really help someone else.
Okay, I know that this blog may not for everyone reading this. But if the shoe fits-wear it. And if it doesn’t then keep it moving.
