November 19, 2025
Gratitude is one of those ideas we all nod along to but don’t always sit with long enough to feel its weight. Brené Brown’s reminder, “What separates privilege from entitlement is gratitude”, forces you to pause, rewind your day, and take a look at the moments you moved through without noticing.
Here’s the part that hits me hardest: privilege isn’t a crime. It isn’t a flaw in your character or a stain on your story. It’s simply a reality that different people carry different advantages, different supports, and different forms of ease. The danger isn’t in having privilege, it’s in forgetting that you have it.
Entitlement is that forgetting.
It’s the quiet shift from “I’m lucky to have this” to “of course I have this.” It’s the slow erosion of appreciation, usually caused not by arrogance, but by distraction. Life gets loud. Work gets stressful. Kids get chaotic. Routines get automatic. And somewhere in the middle of all that, we stop noticing the good things that quietly hold us together.
Gratitude pulls that awareness back into focus.
When I think about the times I’ve slipped into entitlement, they all have one thing in common: I was moving too fast. I wasn’t paying attention. I was assuming. Gratitude forces you to notice. It slows the world down just enough for you to say, “Wait… this right here? This is good.”
Some days gratitude shows up in big, obvious ways, a moment of kindness, an unexpected win, a breath of calm in a noisy room. Other days, it’s small and almost embarrassingly ordinary. The smell of coffee. A quiet drive. A door held open. A kid spontaneously climbing into your lap. A conversation that lands exactly when you needed it.
Privilege becomes entitlement when those moments turn invisible.
Gratitude keeps them illuminated.
The older I get, the more I realize gratitude doesn’t make life easier, it just makes life clearer. It softens the disappointments, sharpens the joys, and grounds you in reality instead of expectation. It reminds you that nothing is promised, everything is temporary, and the moments you rush past are often the ones you’ll look back on with the most affection.
And here’s the truth Brené doesn’t explicitly say but absolutely implies: gratitude isn’t just a feeling; it’s a discipline. It’s something you practice, every day, even when you don’t feel particularly grateful.
Especially then.
So today’s Thought of the Day is a nudge. A reminder. A gentle recalibration. Take stock of the things you have that you didn’t earn, the people you have that you don’t deserve, and the moments that arrive without warning but change your day for the better.
Privilege is what life gives you.
Entitlement is what your ego claims.
Gratitude is what your soul remembers.
🧠 Read the full blog post where I explore this Thought of the Day and the Question of the Day
✨ Browse the full Thought of the Day archive →
✉️ Receive These Thoughts Daily
Start each day with a moment of meaning.
Sign up for the daily email.
👉 https://lowtwopair.com/daily-newsletter/
💬 Share Your Interpretation
How does this Thought hit you today?
Feel free to share it or just carry it quietly through your day.
Leave a Reply