Round 3 Describe The Difference Between....

I have gotten some great input from you all on my questions. I am not planning for this to be a recurring theme. My question for this thread is:

How would you describe the difference between feeling empowered and feeling entitled.

Empowered is the perception that you can do anything, and entitled is perception someone else should handle everything.

The feeling of empowerment is the result of your own achievement. Entitlement is the result of someone else’s achievements.  

Well... to me feeling empowered is to feel like you are in charge of a situation or can handle making decisions about whatever the challenge at hand is. Empowerment is the "I got this" sense. It can be given to you by a boss or by your own confidence.

Feeling entitled is to feel that you are deserving of something. Whether that is something you are owed or something you feel you should have or just special treatment.  It has taken on a sort of negative connotation as it's use is usually by old berkeleys to insult a younger generation using broad generalizations ... but ... if you go to a full service restaurant you are entitled to service. It's what you are paying for. So, we all feel entitled when we are entering into any sort of agreement with someone else where there are expectations to be met. 

Stalin was empowered by his love of country to murder the Rominov regime and their government.

Hitler felt entitled to Austria because it had Germanic heritage.

feeling empowered...I have the ability to...

feeling entitled...I have the God Given Right to...

Thanks everyone.  You all seem to find a way to hit key differences succinctly.

I was talking about this with someone earlier in the week. My explanation was that people feeling empowered have a picture in there head of what they want their lives to be and take actions make it happen. People who feel entitled have a picture in their head of what their lives are supposed to be and get frustrated, angry or severely offended by anyone or anything doesn't fit into it.

Entitlement can be perfectly reasonable. There are laws on the books about what we have right to expect from each other. Like everything else in life, it can be taken to an extreme and do a lot of damage.       

For the most part, all my points have been covered above. 

Type Q said:

I was talking about this with someone earlier in the week. My explanation was that people feeling empowered have a picture in there head of what they want their lives to be and take actions make it happen. People who feel entitled have a picture in their head of what their lives are supposed to be and get frustrated, angry or severely offended by anyone or anything doesn't fit into it.

 

Entitlement can be perfectly reasonable. There are laws on the books about what we have right to expect from each other. Like everything else in life, it can be taken to an extreme and do a lot of damage.       

Getting frustrated and angry about not receiving things you feel entitled to can be a very powerful thing for social change. Women's Suffrage and the Civil Rights movements are examples of people who felt they were entitled to things they weren't getting.

But yes, it can definitely be taken to an extreme where sometimes people think they are entitled to certain priveleges that are really supposed to be earned. Rather than Rights or Protections not being given equally under the law.

We obsess way too much over "how do I feel" about things, and not nearly enough over "how can I accomplish" things. Emotion should Inform reason, not be the cause of it. Reason should restrain emotion, not be the cause of it.