THE SELF-ENTITLED ONES

Have you ever had to engage with people either personally or professionally who felt such an extreme sense of entitlement that they expected you to fulfill their every request without hesitation or questioning any part of it? And if you dared not to be able to manage their requests for any reason, you end up with them becoming increasingly impatient or downright angry with you? Then in retaliation, they say cutting things in such a way as to admonish or demean you? I sure have and I can tell you, it's NOT fun. These types of people view others in their life as nothing more than a means to end in order to fulfill their own particular needs or desires. It is very much like the behavior of a toddler who seems to believe he or she is the center of everyone else's universe. His or her needs and wants are the only ones that deserve any time, attention or validation. It is so tedious and exhausting to have to deal with these types of people. It's all about their schedule, their plans, their job or their family....them, them, them. And upon any of their requests, you are always expected to fall in line and salute, like the good little soldier they expect you to be and do exactly whatever it is they want you to do. You can't ever question anything or heaven forbid, have your own life plans or time get in the way of THEIRS.

At first, you can feel drawn to these types of people because they can be extremely engaging and charming. But then once you get hoodwinked into their world it's totally smoke and mirrors as far as who they actually are. These types of people almost always suffer from extremely low self-esteem and insecurity. They perceive their life with regard to their time and what they do as being entirely more important than anyone else's. They feel compelled to always talk about themselves as if they are far more superior in some way, simply by virtue of the way they choose to conduct their lives. Sometimes they can seem completely reasonable until they say or do something that is so outrageously insensitive or disingenuous. There is a total lack of empathy or sincere interest toward another person and what may be going on in their life. They may put on an act with regard to this but that's all it is, an act. And their ambitions know no bounds either. They are extremely competitive people as well. To them, there are only losers and winners, nothing else. And no matter how hard they work, in their minds, it's never enough. They will drain themselves dry to the point of exhaustion and end up alienating the people closest to them in order to achieve and maintain a certain "status". Their attitudes of superiority along with their humongous egos are mind-boggling.

Maintaining their idealized image of themselves is paramount. They will do whatever it takes to hold onto it and step on anyone who gets in their way of achieving their plans or goals. If you upset their agenda, tell them no, or inconvenience them in any way it never goes over well. Because again, it's all about them and whatever their needs or wants are in any given moment. In my personal experience the more you feed into their behavior the worse it gets. These self-absorbed types can be absolutely toxic to you unless you learn to completely rise above it. They will try their best to insinuate their special brand of self-serving manipulation into your life but you don't have to take the bait. Do not allow anyone to make you think that your life is not as valuable or worthy as theirs is, because it most certainly IS. And learn how to say no and mean it. This can be done without stooping to their level of being petty or vicious. And if they can't accept whatever your reasons are for not being open to doing whatever it is that they want, then that's just too bad for them. Trust me, they will get over it. And in the meantime, do not waste any of your precious time feeling guilty about it either.

Everyone's life is sacrosanct. We all have lives that are just as important and meaningful as everyone else's, no matter how we choose to live them. This is what I say to those people: First and foremost, I am praying for you and want only the best for you. However, while you are conducting you're life in whatever way works best for you, at the same time please have respect and show some interest in another person's life, time, and purpose. Do not continually take advantage of others to serve only yourself. By consistently showing you have a vested interest in another person's life as well as your own is how you can more effectively cultivate and nurture understanding, compassion, and kindness with others. I believe this can be achieved in one's personal as well as professional life. Don't have tunnel vision and only see your own immediate needs or wants to the complete exclusion of another's on your life's journey. We can all learn so much from each other by simply being curious and showing genuine interest. Because I don't care who you are, what you do for a living, or where you live, everyone's life matters.....