You are hearing a lot about privilege. This race has more privilege than that race. One gender has more privilege than the other. I am here to lay out why that argument is wrong and thinking that way will keep you from gaining any of the privileges you are wanting. Now we will touch on politics in this post but bear with it just a small bit because there is a point to be made.
What is privilege?
First, as always, I do like to look at the definition.
a right or immunity granted as a peculiar benefit, advantage, or favor
Mirriam-Webster
Sounds pretty elitist, doesn’t it? Well yeah if you just look at the surface it sure does How can you be granted immunity or have an advantage when you are so downtrodden? Well, I would like to point out that the first word is right. A privilege is a right that is granted. Now many rights are given to us here in the good ol’ US of A. In fact, there are a set of rights that the constitution of this country says you have naturally. They are the right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.
There are also 10 other rights that were promised in the bill of rights. Believe it or not, these are all the rights you actually need to make it in the USA. These are the rights that allow you all the same privileges as the same person. Many people want to say that they need more and yeah I’m all for more rights as long as they don’t trample over other people’s rights.
Now I am not wanting this to be a political post yet people are using privilege as a political tool and it’s not. I am here to tell you that you have all the privilege you need to beagle to go out and find the happiness you could hope for.
It’s not the white dude who is making your life hard. It is not men that are making your life unbearable. It isn’t even actually society that is able to hold you back. There is only one obstacle that is keeping you where you are, and that person is you.
Thinking you don’t have privilege is holding you back
The person who is keeping you down isn’t the evil white man at all. It is you. Yeah, actually it is You. You are all there is in holding you back. It’s none of the circumstances in your life. It’s not your boss, even if he is racist, that’s keeping you from where you want to be. It is the thoughts you are having about your boss that is binding you to the position of playing small.
These thoughts come from several sources. They are your family members, friends, media, and society that cause you to have judgment about what you are and are not able to do. You hear that you can’t get the promotion because you are not a part of the family. Have you asked yourself why? Who says you can’t get promoted? Have you ever asked management if it is possible? If you ask your boss about promotions. Even if he says that you have to be family, good! You know where you stand and you have choices you can make. You can stay or you can go someplace else. Employees leaving a company is also part of the capitalist system. You can’t find good work in your town? Is that really because others are privileged? Well yeah, they were privileged enough to get the job.
You can make your own privilege. You may have to do some uncomfortable actions like moving to a place that has a job opening you are looking for or you may have to change professions. What is keeping you from gaining the desired privilege? You and your actions.
How to gain more privilege
How do you gain the privilege you are after? The first thing you have to do is you will have to get out of your comfort zone. Yes, and I am meaning that sitting in your current state complaining about those who have the privilege and those who don’t is part of your comfort. You being broke is part of your comforting environment. You will have to change how you look at the world. You will have to stop thinking like a victim.
The victim’s thoughts are what is robbing you of your privilege. You cant be a privileged person if you are victimized all the time. Change that takes thought work and paying attention to what you are thinking
Stop thinking you are a broken human being. Have you screwed up? Congrats all humans screw it up at one time or another. Oh, you were in jail? Well, far more people end up in jail than you would think. Some are for small-time offenses while others are in jail for serious crimes. Yet even those people with serious offenses have had people who stopped playing the victim and turned their life around and claimed their privilege. They became successful. They chose to prove to the world that they are not trash and they will rise to the top.
Did these men have people try to stand in their way? Oh yeah, but those people who wanted to claim their privilege were able to outwork their dejecters. They took the extra work knowing that the reward was showing those who stood in their way who is the boss. They were able to stand on the mountain top and say you can’t tell me what to do. They claimed their right to gain privilege by getting out of their comfort zone and shoveling the rejection into the furnace of their desire and keep pushing on.
Change how you are thinking of the problem
Look at what the problem is, examine it from all sides. Do you know people who overcame that very challenge you have? Do you know people who were able to get out of the trailer park or ghetto? If so, list them out. Then find a way to go talk to them. Learn from them. If it is a famous person then you may have to read their books at first. Yet if you work hard enough and ask enough times you will eventually get a chance to learn from them.
Understand that your thoughts about that privilege are what’s actually holding you back. Changing those thoughts is scary but they are also the most freeing challenge you can do. Objectively look at the problem at hand. Are you being told that you can’t because you are black? Who is actually telling you that is it a politician? Ask yourself why they would say that? Is it a broke man saying you can’t be rich? Is it a divorced man who is telling you that you will never be happy being married? These people may actually mean well, except the politicians cant have you climbing out of your pit of despair. Those well-meaning people don’t know what it will take to climb that particular mountain. That is because they tried and once they hit a hard spot they gave up. You can follow their path or keep pushing. That is your choice.
Change your friends
Who are your friends? Show me your friends and I will show you your future. So, if your friends aren’t in the place you want to be start making new friends. This will be an incremental change. You will have friends who are just getting out of their mental trap. They can help you see the world in a new way.
Find friends who are just as driven as you are. Those who like to sit on the couch and complain about the world, only see what they want to see. They don’t care to acknowledge the successes that go against their narrative. So find friends who have the narrative you want. Then follow them.
Stop with the television and social media
Finally, turn off the television. Even if it is Fox News all the media pages and sites do is to find a way to get you distracted from what you are wanting to accomplish.
Social media is just as bad if not worse. Their algorithms are there to keep you on their site. They are great at it too. That is why when you are on TikTok you can suddenly find 2 hours have passed. They draw you in and sow turmoil in your life. Are they handy to have? Yeah, you can find information on social media sites but they also will not want you to leave and build your dream because that is bigger than they are.
So turn off the news. Close the app and start making plans for that privilege you have been told you can t have. Do you want to be privileged? Then it takes work and dedication. Hours of trial and error will often cause you a lot of consternation yet as you fail you learn and that learning is you building new skills so that you can rightfully claim the privilege you want in your life.
One last bit. When you do end up earning your privilege, you will have people who are angry at the fact that you did get out of the confines of your thinking. They will not be happy with you. The key to understanding is that the anger, though directed at you, is actually about their shortcoming and the fact that you did the work that they claimed couldn’t be done. This is one reason you have so many people wanting you to apologize for the work you have done.
Do you want help with doing this? Reach out, let’s talk
