Entitlement
“But Mommmmm!” … Living in a rehab with 160 people I have become acquainted with the worst vice a recovering addict could have: entitlement. I have witnessed kids come in and out with entitlement issues that would make Paris Hilton shiver. Kids (and usually this entitlement belongs to kids) think that because they got sober after years of running amuck that the world owes them a diamond studded chariot covered in puppies and candy bars. No… the world doesn’t owe you anything, at any point in your life, especially not because you just got sober.
At my rehab we had a family group and it was full of entitlement. These parents would drive an hour every week and their kids would sit there, ungrateful, and start complaining about how they don’t have a car and their parents owe them that because they got sober. What happened to deserving a car because you worked hard and showed that you are responsible enough to handle a big investment, like a car. You just got sober, you did not: start a fortune 500 company, cure aids, or feed a village of starving children in Africa. You got sober, which means you are on your way to being less of an asshole every day if you work at it. Don’t diminish the amazing task you have done of getting sober by becoming more of an asshole.
The rehab I went through was full of kids that expected things to be done for them and didn’t understand that when you get sober you have to change your habits around… fully! If you spill a cup of coffee on the floor, you clean it up. Maid service is not provided to you in rehab. Look, in my perfect world things would be easy to get and hard work would be non-existent to get ahead in life. I know that statement is weird, but honestly if someone told you that you could be a millionaire if you watch TV all day and eat popcorn would you say no? I would be all over that offer. Unfortunately, that’s not how the world is. And if you think that’s how the world is, the world will humble you. If you get into sobriety with “the world owes me something” attitude, you will be humbled. The humbling with happen between when you realize that rehab doesn’t serve Chocolate Mousse with gold flakes at bed time and when you realize mommy and daddy aren’t going to give you an unlimited spending balance on their credit card. If they do give you an unlimited balance on their credit card…. Call me, let’s be friends, I need new shoes.
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Filed under: Addiction, Alcohol and Drugs, Life, Recovery, Treatment
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