In a world where “What can I get for free?” seems to be a growing mentality, I can’t help but notice the pattern of entitlement and discontent it creates. There’s no better place to observe this than in restaurants, where I’ve occasionally overheard people at nearby tables complaining about a perfectly fine meal, only to get an item comped from the bill. What’s astonishing is that these diners enjoyed their food, shared laughs, and appeared to be having a wonderful time until the check arrived.
It’s as if they felt a moral victory in walking away with something for nothing. But when did getting a free ride become so celebrated, and what does it say about how we approach life? I’ve thought about this mentality, and one analogy comes to mind: people who sit by a fireplace, expecting heat without ever adding wood to the fire. They expect warmth without contributing any fuel, just like those who expect more from life without ever making deposits of their own.
This notion extends beyond restaurants and fireplaces; it infiltrates many aspects of life. People complain about others who have more or live more luxuriously, begrudging them with their bigger homes, fancier cars, or exotic vacations. But instead of acknowledging the effort it took those people to achieve such success, they resent the fact that they aren’t living that way.
It’s a mindset that chooses envy over effort and dissatisfaction over discipline. This attitude isn’t confined to just a few. I’.