One habit responsible for the end of several relationships is the misuse of privileges. Did you know ?that taking people’s generosity or kind heartedness for granted can ruin the rapport you have with them. Before we discuss this let’s establish what right and Privileges are and their differences .
A right, is an entitlement that cannot be taking away because it has legal and moral backing. While a privilege is something that can be give or taken away . Privileges don’t have legal backings . The benefactor of a privilege is not entitled to the special treatment he or she gets . It is accorded to him as a result of generosity.
You might want to check yourself , your relationship with people as well as your interaction with the management of the establishment where you work or the institution where you school.
There are few instances of privileges mistaken for rights mentioned in this piece. Forgiveness is one of them. If you offend a person and they decide to forgive you, that’s a privilege. You’re not entitled to automatic forgiveness. so, don’t go about offending people with the mind set that you’re entitled to forgiveness. They can decide to forgive you or decide never to trust you again.
Another common way in whichever Nigerians take privileges as right is the mentality it is the responsibility of people from higher economic classes to cater for their needs. Some persons believe that it is the duty of the religious leaders to cater for their needs but it not so . It is not the responsibility of religious leaders to feed , clothe or cater for the less priveleged they only do it because of their religious and moral believes.
What then are the demerits of of misusing privileges. The first is that you will most definitely hurt the feelings of the people or persons who have decided to favour you. Another one is that the providers of such privileges will be disappointed in the way you have handled the privilege you were granted. Also you could loose the privilege forever alongside side the relationship you have with the person or group of persons . Lastly you could loose the privilege at a time when you’re dependent on it and this could leave you stranded.
How then do you know when you’re misusing a privilege? First you must be able to decide whether the benefit you enjoy is a right or privilege or right. Check if that benefit is out of generosity or if it’s your right . it’s your right when there’s a legal backing and if withdrawal of such benefits could amount to breaking the law.
Moving on to other part of this piece which talks about exercising your rights. Rather than claim our rights a lot of us ignore them or or pay to get access to them. To avoid being deprived of your right as a person you must first know your rights are . A good example of one the rights a lot of Nigerians don’t exercise I ou political right. We all lament about the terrible economy and how it is the fault of our corrupt leaders. Rather than complain we should utilize our rights as citizens and get involved in political matters in order to heal our sick political system. You can begin make a change by exercising your voting rights this coming elections.
Conclusively, be careful to differentiate rights from privileges in your interactions with people and organisations and also make sure you’re exercising your rights.
