Lesson 038 - Today's Character Epidemic
Be Grateful
My motivation and mission:
Google sheet that contains list of all WCD lessons and links to all content:
Lesson reviewing how to use Google sheet:
Lesson 038 is a life lesson. It is not about money, investing, or finance. Rather, it is about life principals that will make you happier and more fulfilled.
There is a character epidemic in today’s society. There are a lot of rich and influential people who represent the worst character traits, yet they are idolized. Social media has added fuel on this fire. It has allowed shallow, narcissistic, entitled people to obtain huge social media followings. Now you have an entire generation of people who embody these terrible personality traits.
Lesson Topics:
In Lessons 038 I will discuss what I believe to be the single best and single worst character traits that an individual can have.
In my opinion:
Single Best Character Trait: Grateful
Single Worst Character Trait: Entitled
Here are some other good/bad character traits to consider while you are reading this.
Good Character Traits:
grateful
humble
generous
integrity
loyal
loving
kind
sincere
level-headed
patient
determined
focused
persistence
open-minded
cooperative
optimistic
Bad Character Traits:
entitled
shallow
narcissistic
dishonest
mean
rude
disrespectful
impatient
greedy
pessimistic
cruel
malicious
petty
selfish
unforgiving
Be Grateful
Being grateful is almost like a super power. It is a short-cut to living a happy and fulfilling life.
Being grateful is about being realistic, being present, and living in the moment.
Being grateful is about reflecting on all of things that you DO have and not about the things you don’t have.
It’s ok to have high expectations or lofty goals in life. You aren’t going to win at everything all the time. There will be times when you don’t reach you goal, you lose, and you have to face adversity. A grateful person will be thankful for having the opportunity to try again instead of being resentful of the outcome.
You should make a habit out of counting your blessings in life. I try and think of 3-5 things that I am grateful for each night before bed. This small routine has made me a much happier person.
Most of us live a very privileged life. If you compare yourself to someone who lived 100 years ago, you are living better than 99.99% of the world. Ungrateful people will compare themselves to others and feel resentful when they don’t have the things that they do. Social media has made this much worse. Now instead of comparing yourself to your neighbors, people compare themselves to the top 1%.
I challenge you to never compare yourself to others. As my father used to say to my brother and I:
“Comparisons are odious”
If you look at your life in absolute terms, it’s probably pretty good.
Don’t Be Entitled
Being entitled is almost the opposite of being grateful.
Instead of being happy/content with the things you DO have in life, you are bitter and resentful for the things that you do NOT have in life.
You expect things to be given to you and done for you for no reason.
You expect to get a lot without giving a lot.
You treat other people terribly and expect to be treated superiorly.
This negative energy is directed towards those who surround you or to those who are trying to help you in the moment. Being entitled is a very off-putting character trait and it will drive all of your friends and family members far away.
Those who are entitled also typically have these other character flaws:
Impatient
Rude
Shallow
Petty
Narcissistic
Mean
Disrespectful
Unforgiving
Remember, you are not better than any other person on this earth. I’m not a particularly religious person, but I have always liked this quote:
Matthew 7:12 - "So in everything, do unto others what you would have them do to you…”
Summary
The social media companies have engineered their algorithms to make us Dopamine addicts. Even when you are consciously aware of this, it’s still incredibly addictive to keep scrolling on your news feed. The more time you spend scrolling, the more time you spend comparing yourself to others. This has resulted in society becoming less grateful and more shallow, narcissistic, and entitled. This is what I refer to as the “Character Epidemic”.
A great Netflix documentary on this phenomena is “The Social Dilemma”.
Don’t fall victim to this. You are better than that.
Strive to be grateful; make it a daily routine to think about 3-5 things you are grateful for. It will make you happier and more fulfilled. Overtime you will become naturally more grateful.
Like minded people associate with one another. If you are a good person, other good people will want to be in your network. If you are entitled, you will drive away any good people in your life and attract only other entitled people.
Reference Material & Social Media
In Lesson 030 I cover how to navigate and utilize the Google Sheet I have built for all WCD lessons. This Google Sheet contains a worksheet for each WCD lesson. Each sheet has all of the Excel calculations, tables, graphs, and charts that I have posted in the respective WCD lesson. Additionally, the Google Sheet has a master “Index” worksheet that has links to all of the content associated with each lesson.
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So insightful! Maturity well beyond your years!
Remembering to be grateful is difficult sometimes. It’s definitely better for you (mentally and physically) than obsessing over what you don’t have. Life is more than counting W’s and L’s.