A managing partner in a law firm decries that the 20-someting crop of new lawyers seem to have a attitude of entitlement, expecting sign-on bonuses, vacations, benefits, and high salaries; “they expect to start as partners”.

A business owner was furious that while an employee was on a business trip he booked a room in a 5-star hotel for the trip rather than staying in a modest business venue; “when reprimanded he was shocked to be told that he was taking advantage of the company!”

A grandfather laments that the only time he hears from his teenage grandchildren is when they want something; “I can always expect a call around the time of their birthday!”

A parent bemoans the fact that she spends her day chauffeuring her children from activity to activity with nary a word of appreciation, “but you should hear them complain should I so much as ask them to help me set the table for dinner!”

A young husband feels burdened by his wife’s demands that he do more and more for her, expecting him to provide her the life of Kim Kardashian; “she never thinks about me, always about herself.”

I am constantly hearing the complaint that people, especially the younger generation, always have their hand out wanting more from parents, employers, and society in general.

I don’t know how factually accurate it is to say that this generation is any different than previous generations. But it appears that a lot of people are expressing the opinion that this generation of young people rarely think about what they can do for others. They believe that they are entitled to all of the benefits without having to make any contribution with an attitude of “What have you done for me lately?”

John F. Kennedy, in his inaugural address, exhorted American to “ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country!” I wonder how many youth today think about how they can make a difference in the lives of their parents, their employers, or their country. I wonder how many parents teach their children to forgo their birthday presents and instead donate their gifts to less fortunate children or even suggest that contributions be made to charity. I wonder how many made it a habit to take their children to homeless shelters, children’s hospitals, or other charity to participate as a volunteer.

Children are by nature born self-centered; everything revolves around them.  Therefore, they have to be taught the virtue of public service, charitable giving, and generosity. They have to be exposed to the inequities that exist in our society and encouraged to made a difference. They must be reinforced for acts of sharing and taught that their efforts to effect change matters.

Perhaps if people were focused more on how they could “make dent in the universe“ if only on a small scale, they would experience a sense of internal satisfaction as well as reap the benefits of knowing that they made a difference.

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[Dr. Dreyfus is a nationally recognized clinical psychologist, relationship counselor, sex therapist, and life coach in the Santa Monica - Los Angeles area treating low sexual desire, premature ejaculation, sexual addictions, drug and alcohol abuse as well marriage and relationship communication and intimacy issues. The profits from his latest book, LIVING LIFE FROM THE INSIDE OUT along with his other five books, are being donated to charity through the website Book Royalties for Charity and can be purchased through Amazon.com. Please become a fan on his Facebook Fan Page by indicating "like" on the page by clicking here. You can also find more tools to help you experience a more fulfilling life by clicking here to visit his website.]

Tags: awareness, human connection, living consciously, social issues

This entry was posted on Monday, January 30th, 2012 at 6:59 am and is filed under Parenting, Personal Growth, Psychology, Social Issues. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.