The Opposite of Gratitude
Created on 10 July, 2024 • Scale Up Business • 25 views • 2 minutes read
A few days ago, I got a reminder from Facebook that three years ago, GMAIL reached its first 2,000 users. Behind the celebrations on Facebook, there was immense gratitude behind the scenes. Something we worked hard on was finally accepted by the market.
The Opposite of Gratitude
A few days ago, I got a reminder from Facebook that three years ago, GMAIL reached its first 2,000 users.
Behind the celebrations on Facebook, there was immense gratitude behind the scenes. Something we worked hard on was finally accepted by the market.
Before those 2,000 users, we also celebrated and felt grateful when we reached our first 1,000 users, even our first 100 users. It was a very happy time.
However, after reaching 2,000 users, we stopped celebrating and, gradually, stopped feeling grateful. The company started gaining traction and growing on its own. Traffic increased, user numbers continued to rise, and so on.
We no longer posted on Facebook when we reached 3,000, 5,000, or even 10,000 users. Maybe we were too focused on growth at that point.
We, especially me, started thinking, "This is how it should be," or worse, "We deserve all of this because of our hard work, sleepless nights, lack of family time, and other sacrifices." I forgot exactly why we stopped posting our achievements, but one thing I remember is that the overwhelming sense of gratitude I felt when we reached 2,000 users never returned for a long time.
This led me to realize what I believe is the opposite of gratitude: entitlement.
This might happen in other businesses too, not just ours. Or maybe in your business as well.
I've seen other businesses be very grateful when they achieve their first 10 million rupiahs in revenue, then 100 million, and so on. There were celebrations, and behind those celebrations was usually a sense of gratitude.
I was invited to meals by these businesses, even if it was just at a roadside satay stall, but I could feel their gratitude through their body language.
They would also give to the needy, orphans, and say to me, "This is all because of Allah..."
However, as their businesses grew, the same pattern happened as with us. The gratitude they felt when reaching 100 million seemed to disappear when they reached 200 million. Some of it reappeared when they hit 1 billion, but some didn’t, as I mentioned earlier, due to a sense of entitlement.
Revenue of 10 million rupiahs a month that used to be so thrilling no longer felt like an achievement, even if it was earned in a day or just a few hours.
The phrase that used to be, "This is all because of Allah..." gradually turned into, "Hard work never betrays..." and so on.
Maybe we start to feel entitled or believe it’s just deserved, or other similar feelings that might be a "side effect" of hard work.
We forget that no matter the number we achieve, Allah can take it back just like that, at any time.
Perhaps it's time we try to restore and focus on maintaining a sense of gratitude.
Note, I’m not saying hard work doesn’t have an impact—it most likely does. But at a certain point, there comes a time when our hard work no longer makes a difference.
Conclusion
As businesses grow, the initial feelings of gratitude for milestones can fade and be replaced by a sense of entitlement. It’s important to remember to maintain gratitude and acknowledge that our successes can be fleeting and are ultimately beyond our control.