In the last installment of our series on entitlement, we’ll look at why doing hard things first and keeping inconvenient commitments makes all the difference in a culture of entitlement.
- Why the Next Hard Thing (NHT) is so key to getting away from entitlement
- What self-medicating behaviors are keeping you from your Next Hard Thing
- Why the little things are a BIG deal
- How to quit making commitments you don’t have the resources to keep
Hey, everyone! Welcome back to MercyTalk. We are in the final week of our “Entitlement Cure” series, so we’re going to go out swinging as we dive into some details today that will hopefully give you additional tools to get you started tackling entitlement in your own life. Today, we’re going to talk about something called NHT—better known as the “Next Hard Thing”. FYI, this is about as fun as it sounds; your NHT is the choice you need to make to get you where you want to go. The NHT is key when working against entitlement, because it requires you to do something about your excuses. Most of the time, the NHT is something that feels too hard in the moment, so we opt to do something else instead (Facebook, Netflix, Starbucks…you get the idea). The key here is not delaying the hard things that need to be done, but instead, facing them head on, which actually results in what we’re REALLY looking for. Townsend gives us some key questions for nailing down your NHT, and they are extremely practical (because you know we love some practical here at Mercy). They are:
- What is the pattern that gets you stuck? Examples: kid problems, money issues, boredom, etc.
- What might you be afraid of?
- What do you do with your time when you’re avoiding the issues? Hint: look at your “busy” behaviors.
- How would you feel after you did something difficult and it worked?
Here’s the good news in all of this: there’s an end to the NHT; it’s a temporary thing. In fact, self-talk like, “The sooner I do this hard thing, the sooner I get my life to where I want it,” can serve as a big help. (We actually make the process drag out when we avoid our NHT.) The other cool thing here is that facing the NHT actually gives you momentum instead of IT sucking momentum OUT of you. It gives you the confidence to do the next thing you need to tackle (similar to the “debt snowball” concept).
However, most of the time, we play up the situation in our minds and make it feel way harder than it really is. So as we wrap up this conversation on the topic, we want to also talk about some really cool ways that approaching our own entitlement benefits those around us as well as ourselves. We’ve done a lot of digging on what entitlement is and how to combat it. But what are the benefits of facing it head on? What are some things we can look forward to by choosing responsibility instead of wallowing in selfish expectation?
- A clearer sense of one’s own goals and how to get there
- A grateful heart that replaces jealousy, envy, and resentment
- More honest, joy-filled relationships
- A healthier self-image and outlook on life
While the hard way can feel like the impossible way at times, the rewards far outweigh the sacrifice!
We hope you found this series on entitlement practical, encouraging and maybe even a little challenging. If you have any suggestions, comments, or feedback for us, you can always send that over to mercytalk@mercymultiplied.com. Next week, we will dive into a new series with one of our favorites, Jen Otero, as we start our new series, “How to Deal”. Want to know more? Join us next week on MercyTalk!
