Earning It, Deserving It and Getting It
Nothing gets on my nerves more than when people who don’t get what they want use the following two phrases, “I earned it” or “I deserve it.” It takes a lot of energy and restraint for me not to say “no you didn’t.” Some of you may think that is a less than compassionate view and I would agree it can hit pretty hard. I didn’t always think this way. I was one of the people who would use those phrases when I had worked and sacrificed for something I wanted and didn’t get.
Earning It
Earning it implies that I left no stone unturned. There was nothing more that I could do to get what I wanted. My commitment was greater than my feelings. There was never a day where I took it easy or didn’t work to my potential or beyond.
Deserving It
Deserving it implies that for some reason I’m more deserving than someone else. It screams of entitlement. In reality I have no idea what that other person has done to get what they want. In my heart it just isn’t possible to deserve something that I didn’t rightfully earn.
Getting It
The people who get what they want are the people who have the right to use the words earned and deserved. Those words are reserved for them and the effort and work that they have put into the pursuit of what they want. When someone else gets what I want it is highly likely that they did more than more or did it better than me.
The Ifs And The Buts
There will always be those people that will bring up the ifs and buts. Those are nothing more than excuses. People will talk about lucky bounces, unfair officiating or some obscure scenario that somehow makes them a victim or at a minimum feel better about not actually getting what they wanted. My high school football Coach John Danks had a quote he used often to sum up this topic perfectly. “If ifs and buts were candy and nuts it would be Christmas year around.”
Call To Action
Don’t allow yourself to get wrapped up into the “ifs and buts” or the “earned and deserved” game. Go back to work, evaluate what you did well and where you can do better. Take that information and formulate a new plan and put it into action for yourself so the next time the opportunity arrives you GET WHAT YOU WANT. Then and only then can you say you earned it and you really deserve it. Have a great week, light the WICK of Leadership and never forget that when your commitment is greater than your feelings you get results.
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