On Saturday, June 24th, we hosted the Summer Art Soiree at Ringholz Studios in Jackson.
The Certior Group will continue to conduct regular social events and workshops. Please check this newsletter for announcements of future events.
While driving drunk in June of 2013, a Texas teenager Ethan Couch lost control of his pickup truck at high speed, killing four bystanders and severely injuring several passengers in his vehicle. Couch is the son of a very successful – many would say “wealthy” – businessman.
“A psychologist testified that 16-year-old Ethan Couch, charged in the deaths of four pedestrians while driving drunk, suffered from the condition in which children — generally from richer families — have a sense of entitlement, are irresponsible, and make excuses for poor behavior because parents have not set proper boundaries.” – USA Today, December 14, 2013.
The tragic case of Ethan Couch drew international headlines and scorn from nearly all circles because of the leniency of the ultimate sentence (10 years of probation) and the lack of an apology from the defendant. At the heart of that scorn was the perception that entitlement is a deep, chronic character flaw of wealthy children and young adults. The common term for this condition is “affluenza”, a term that suggests that the pattern of behavior is like an incurable disease specific to children of wealth.
More on Ethan Couch and Affluenza
My experience, however, and the experience of many of my colleagues is that entitlement can be counteracted with gratitude and that, over time, gratitude can rewire a young person’s brain and transform entitled children and young adults into grateful ones.
Empowered Wealth provides us with a wonderful tool, the Levels of Gratitude. A way we might use this tool to combat “entitlement” would be to begin with respect for ourselves and for others. Can we demonstrate to our children that we respect our health and well-being, our family and others, and our faith enough to say “no” to destructive behaviors? Can we stay true to this gratitude principle if and when our children falter or rebel? Can we set limits and hold our children accountable when they cross the line into entitlement and disregard for others?
We can give our children and others a gift that’s worth more than most of the “things” they think they may want in the moment. We can give them the gift of gratitude.
Please join us for one of our study group meetings or Empowered Wealth workshops where we teach the Levels of Gratitude.
