Entitlement can be killing our ability to commit, grow, and discover.

Recently, when I was running I came across this out of place flower bursting through a crack in the concrete curb. The fact that this flower, once a seed, had committed itself to fulfill its God-given potential even though its' circumstances were obviously working against it, is a life-lesson metaphor worth appreciating. No pot. No potting soil. No support system. No fanfare or glorious flower bed to be a part of. Just gutter water and shallow soil in the crack of the sidewalk. It was a real life example of the old saying "commit to bloom where you are planted." Could the same be said about you and I with our lives, or is an entitled persona keeping us  from experiencing real growth?

In a recent study on the impact that entitlement has on a person's ability to succeed with every day unapplauded tasks (Penny Principle type of tasks), it was found that one's ability to be successful with common place work had a correlation to their relative feeling of entitlement. If one held a more entitled persona, then they grew bored rather quickly with "dull" tasks. If one held less of an entitled persona, they performed much greater with these tasks. Similar to the concrete blooming flower, our current situation may not be exactly the ideal, however I once heard a man say in regards to the context of marriage that, "it's not about finding the right person, but about being the right person." Can the same hold true when it comes to all our domains of life? Are we above the diligence demand of fundamentals, so much so, that we are actually eroding away instead of moving forward into our potential?

Despite its' odd location, the seed stayed the course as it pertains to the fundamentals of germination (Germination = anything expanding into a greater being from a small existence). In doing so, it actually caught the attention of a passer by from a random curb. The seed committed to the process and allowed the roots to set in. The faithful efforts with the common place activities facilitated the discovery of nutrients for growth, and moreover an existence. Ironically, for many in our modern self-esteem educated era, the word commitment can resonate with the sensation of fear. Fear that if we do commit, then we may in fact be limiting ourselves from our "self-entitled" potential. People from various backgrounds can quite impressively communicate their reasoning for a lack of demonstrated commitment, both relationally and professionally, ranging from experiencing their parents going through a divorce, to company wide lay-offs. "If companies don't value commitment so why should I buy in." Granted, these are all valid pain inducing statements, and I certainly am not one to suggest that people should stop dreaming and settle, however at some point you need to wonder if a entitled mindset pertaining to your "great potential" is actually robbing you from ever moving beyond the infatuation stage of life and taking a step into the reality that commitment has to offer?

As it holds true to sports, the same holds true for all facets of life...it takes multiple hours of technically sound hard work to produce one ESPN Sports Center Play of the Day. Potential is worthless if it remains solely in our own minds. At some point it needs to take the risk to of committing, otherwise it will become too late. Think about committing to what's in front of you each day and you may be surprised with just how it blooms.

Win Today!

Victor