Having a family-owned piece of property that’s open to everyone can be an absolute blessing! However, the system only works if everyone is fair and respectful. If a handful of folks get too entitled, at the expense of the rest of their relatives, it’s bound to lead to friction and frustration.
Redditor u/handsthefram went viral on r/EntitledPeople after opening up about a spot of drama between his nearest and dearest. He revealed how his sister-in-law tried to claim the family cabin near a ski resort for herself, in order to impress her social circle. However, this backfired on her. Massively!
Read on for the full story, as well as to see how the internet reacted to the tale. Bored Panda has reached out to the author via Reddit, and we’ll update the article as soon as we hear back from him.
It can be a ton of fun to know that you can visit your family cabin and unwind from time to time
Image credits: Pressmaster / envatoelements (not the actual photo)
One man regaled the internet with how his sister-in-law tried to clam the cabin, at the expense of all her other relatives
Image credits: msvyatkovska / envatoelements (not the actual photo)
Later, the author answered some of the most common questions he received
Image credits: handsthefram
A person’s sense of entitlement can be a sign of a personality disorder or the result of how they were raised
Image credits: Prostock-studio / envatoelements (not the actual photo)
Entitlement is a characteristic of narcissism. Verywell Mind explains that there are a variety of possible reasons why someone grows up to have a sense of entitlement, including how they were raised, and whether adults used to give them special treatment when they were children.
If someone was indulged and spoiled as a kid, it naturally contributes to their sense of entitlement. However, this works in reverse, too. For instance, if someone was denied a lot of things growing up, they might believe the world ‘owes’ them for all that they’ve endured in the past.
Meanwhile, in some cases, a sense of entitlement can be a symptom of a personality disorder, such as narcissistic personality disorder, antisocial personality disorder, or borderline personality disorder.
It’s likely that you know at least one person in your life who is overly entitled. Some of the most common signs of a sense of entitlement include demands for special treatment, not showing gratitude, and expecting other people to do things for you.
Meanwhile, entitled individuals have a constant need for admiration and have a penchant for being melodramatic. They also tend to put their own needs above those of everyone else while embodying a victim mentality. Furthermore, they’re big on praise and struggle with insecurity quite a bit.
Becoming more self-sufficient and grateful are good ways to tackle one’s own entitlement
Image credits: Rawpixel /envatoelements (not the actual photo)
Entitled people avoid taking responsibility for their own actions and often find someone else to blame, whether it’s other individuals, events, or their environment.
The antidote to all of this is taking steps to become more self-sufficient and independent. (And a healthy dose of gratitude never goes amiss, no matter what!)
The author’s story shows that proper communication is absolutely paramount. Transparency and honesty can solve many problems before they get out of hand. Case in point, once the OP’s family started suspecting that the SIL was doing something bizarre with the cabin reservations, they started coordinating, and brought the issue up with the grandparents who own the property.
They stepped in and formally equalized the system. Then, they went even further and further reduced the SIL’s privileges after she continued to harass the rest of the family, pressuring them not to use the cabin.
Conflicts over property, money, and privileges are no joke. If left unsolved, they can tear relationships apart, ending in bitterness and regret for all sides.
Wanting to be admired isn’t a sin, but it shouldn’t come at the cost of the people who are meant to be your nearest and dearest
Image credits: YuriArcursPeopleimages / envatoelements (not the actual photo)
A core part of life as a human being is wanting to fit in and impress others. It’s an evolutionary strategy for survival. We are hardwired for empathy and want things like love, respect, admiration, and attention. There’s nothing wrong with that, so long as you don’t take it too far.
However, if you’re constantly sacrificing your authentic self to impress other people, it’s an issue. Furthermore, it’s not a good look if you’re prioritizing yourself and your friends at the direct expense of your family members (i.e., them not getting access to the communal cabin as often as you).
A person’s entire worldview can quickly fall apart when somebody (gently, politely) starts pushing back against their entitlement. But a bit of honest self-reflection is far from the worst thing that can happen to someone.
What do you think of the way that the author and his family handled the entire situation with the sister-in-law? What would you do if you had a family cabin and one of your relatives felt entitled to use it as if it were their own?
What’s your approach to dealing with overly entitled people, dear Pandas? We’d love to hear your thoughts on all of this! Feel free to share them in the comments section at the bottom of this post.
The man shared even more context in the comments, where he interacted with his readers
Here’s what some internet users had to say about the whole argument over who gets to use the cabin
