"Do you believe 'I am entitled to have things go my way; to be told the truth; to be loved, cared about, and appreciated by everyone; to have promises made to me and then kept; and to be given special treatment or special consideration in everything I do'? Behind these beliefs are the rationalizations 'Promises should be kept,' 'I am special,' "It can't happen to me,' and "How dare they!' Such beliefs may mask the fear of deprivation: 'I won't get enough,' 'I won't get what's rightfully mine,' and 'I won't survive as an individual person if I have to be like everyone else.' To think this way is to ignore a condition of existence: Things are not always fair or equal. "Entitlement can take the form of expectations, overreaction to being taken advantage of, a sense of being owed something, or a belief that we are being cheated. The best example of this feature of ego is the reaction we might have when we are cut off in traffic. Does the feeling of 'How dare he do that to me?' turn into a frenetic and vengeful chase? Does it stick in your craw for the rest of the day? Vengefulness and indignation are clues to the presence of an arrogant, narcissistic — and ultimately very scared — ego. But behind the angry sense of humiliation is sadness that we have not been treated with love and respect — the things we believe we are entitled to from everyone. What we really mean to say when someone cuts us off in traffic is 'How dare you not treat me with respect! How dare you not love me!' Secretly, the ego believes it always had a right to that. Make a commitment to ask for love directly each time you notice yourself falling into one of the ego reactions."