Entitlement is an enduring personality trait characterized by the belief that one deserves preferences and resources that others do not.

Like boundaries, we recognize entitlement chiefly by its effect on us: envy, anger, and frustration.

Sometimes, we mistake entitlement for a sense of self-confidence projected by competent, assured, often charismatic others.

Sometimes we confuse it with narcissism, with which it's often associated, or self-absorption, which occasionally looks like the same thing.

And sometimes, according to research, a bit of a fleeting, situational rush of entitlement can be a good thing; it can increase creativity and lead to novel, unusual solutions to problems, the kind of out-of-the-box thinking that organizations and employers encourage. 

A sense of entitlement enables people to think and act differently from others; the more they do so, the more willing and able they are to generate creative ideas.

Conversely, a chronically entitled disposition may diminish the motivation to put in the extra effort.

But just as frequently, they come across as indifferent to others.

That's why they often provoke such negative responses in those they encounter, especially those I don't personally know. 

That may be the most significant fact about entitlement; it is that silent signal that our negative feelings have been triggered by it.

We recognize when our sense of entitlement drives us and helps us understand our need to balk at social conventions and rebel against limitations on our autonomy or prohibitions on our preferred behavior.

Marching to our drummer is one thing; knowing when that sound affects others, like chalk on a blackboard, is another.