Sometimes we wonder why the person we are talking to seems so depressed. He has everything in life, and yet his complaints never end. Spending some time with these entitled people will make us realise that they are the saddest people in this world. My children do not listen to me. How do I ensure my child gets into IIT? I have a short 6-month visa, while I wanted a 1-year visa. I have gained an inch, and I am so worried. My mother-in-law is sitting on my head. How do I give her a send-off? I want to go on vacation to Norway, while my husband insists on London.
The list is endless. I don't know where the genesis of these entitlements lies. Since childhood, we have a very strong drive to "become" something. We want to become doctors, engineers, CAs, and civil servants. Why? To become rich and powerful. Why do we want to become rich and powerful? Because we want to consume more and more. In the struggling phase, we feel that as we grow rich, we will eat the food of our choice. We will eat more of what we like. As we grow up, we realise that food is the greatest cause of our suffering and ill health, and we start eating less. If they do not, doctors make them do the same. The body has a limit to the amount of food it can absorb. More than that just accumulates in the body and causes disease.
However, works a bit differently when it comes to pleasures. Every time we have a higher dose of pleasure, the threshold of spike also shifts. The first car we buy gives us a spike of pleasure, and we remain happy for a month. The next car keeps us happy for hardly a few days. It will continue to reduce with every new car. That applies to watches, properties, shoes, dresses, and every other item of consumption. That applies to socialisation as well. That's why in the marriage season, we get tired of attending parties. That's why a newlywed couple gets fed up with invitations. That's why, as we become resourceful, we actually become poorer because getting the same amount of pleasure becomes very difficult. That's why we see these entitled people always cribbing. They try to earn more and more money and power, failing to realise that the currency of money and power has already lost its value in the market of happiness.
That's why the entitled people feel deprived of happiness. That's why they crib so much. This morning, I saw a few children riding a rickshaw, having fun together. Their faces were full of smiles and genuine happiness. They probably don't know what's going to happen next. Yet they seemed to have no grudges. It's because they don't have high expectations. Most entitled people get fixated on a "bare minimum" of everything. Often, this "bare minimum" standard set by the parents is so high that the children get exhausted just reaching that level. Even if they are somehow able to get that bare minimum and surpass that, their threshold of happiness is set so high that they find it quite difficult to be happy. Often, depression sets in at a very early age. I have seen so many people belonging to this "entitled class' undertaking psychological treatments. The problem is not with resources, but with the sense of entitlement. That's why money and power without awareness are probably the biggest curses one can have.
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