Some would argue that self-reliance makes you “selfish” and is “overrated,” but I disagree. Self-sufficiency, or the ability to rely on yourself, is crucial to becoming your true self. Having the ability to depend on yourself instead of other people can be wildly relieving and overall is helpful for yourself, the people in your life, your parents, and even the environment. With this inner stability, you are more likely to succeed and be more confident, as well as develop skills and expertise. You are more capable of discovering what you love and what you don’t, and invest your time into those things, because you are not being held down by other people. Not being entirely self-sufficient doesn’t make you lousy or anything of the such, but the more you are able to rely on yourself, the better for your mental, physical, and financial health. Self-sufficiency is essential, as getting things done on your own makes us more effective as a society and increases positive feelings about ourselves. In the essay “Self-Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson, he shares journal entries dating as far back as 1832, containing his thoughts and actions throughout his lifetime. The challenges of his life taught him what it means to be self-reliant, enlightening him on his want for people to divert people from conformity. As a whole, he advocates for individualism, encourages self-direction, and believes in following your instincts and intuition, rather than being a follower. He expresses that “people must believe in their own intuition and reject the opinions of others in order to transcend the bounds of the physical world.” By “rejecting the opinions of others,” you are not allowing yourself to be shut down by what other people have to say. You know what you know and that’s that. You should always be open to different opposing beliefs, but letting other’s opinions overrule your own is just disrespectful to yourself. You deserve to have thoughts and feelings just as much as anybody else and putting that into action is key to being self-sufficient.

Without this constant compliance to other people, you are more likely to be happier and more confident and with this level of independence. You’re capable of allowing your mind to open up and be more accepting and understanding of different things, situations, and people by empowering yourself to tap into your individuality. If you are constantly relying on others for self-satisfaction, you’re less likely to be confident and have high self-esteem. The minute you are not receiving validation from these people, you are going to feel defeated and even unworthy. However, if you let yourself appreciate your uniqueness and dispose of self-deprecation and criticism, this confidence will be everlasting and the need for security found in what other people see, not what you see, will diminish. You will also be more confident in decision-making and embracing when you are wrong or don’t know something. This mindset shift can be quite difficult for some people, but it’s beyond worth it.

Along with this abundant confidence that being self-reliant can give you, it also makes you more adaptive to different situations and people. Go with the flow will be your new motto. With this diverse power, your mind and body are more likely to acclimate to difficult or uncomfortable situations. You will be able to deal with conflict like never before. And people? Pish posh. When individuals are used to relying on themselves for resources and abilities, they are going to be infinitely more resilient. Every challenge has the ability to help us with future challenges and how we come about them is most important and really shows your level of individual sustainability. You can take better care of yourself and be the most healthy version of yourself. Your ability to care for yourself and others will be greater and better put to use, again, making us a better society as a whole.

Despite the fact that it may be easier to rely on others rather than yourself, you are way more likely to become successful and excel in life. When you are not depending on the other people in your life to do everything for you, you are forced to do it on your own, figure out how you like to get things done and do things at a pace suitable for you to live your life stress-free. For some, doing the bare minimum for themselves is being “self-sufficient,” but it’s much more than that. People do not live life by doing the bare minimum for themselves and waiting on everybody else to do things for them. The only way to truly experience life with the most independent version of yourself is to do it on your own. Sometimes a little help is necessary, but finding ways to help yourself would be the self-sufficient solution.

Getting a good job to cover living expenses will help you to be more able to pay for your own finances, further adding to your confidence levels. When all of your needs are paid for and taken care of by you and nobody else, it will show you how unnecessary it is to rely on other people. Since you are more likely to make better financial decisions, given that you are self-sufficient enough to do so, you will be saving money and investing it into better, more important things. Having the resources to take care of yourself is important if you want to build on yourself, your personal goals and ambitions, and your future.
You’re probably wondering, “How does this help the environment in any way?” Well, if you want to be truly sustainable on your own, you can always grow your own food, cutting off reliance on grocery stores for vegetables, fruits, and even meat, if you cultivate animals as well. You are also reducing health concerns regarding pesticides and chemicals on produce sold in stores. Don’t depend on your family to recycle. Recycle and compost on your own! You can also install solar panels and preserve water as much as you can. Of course, you can always do these things while still depending on other people for other kinds of things, but making the decision to do them on your own is an indicator that you are self-sufficient enough to take care of your part to help the environment.

Although being completely self-sufficient can be gratifying and beneficial, many people’s situations may be difficult and make it harder to rely on themselves. Sometimes this greater control of your own life can feel overburdening, and in this day in age, everything is expensive, and it’s important to keep in mind that not everyone has abundant resources and safe spaces. There are many scenarios where life gets in the way of being entirely self-reliable, so never judge another person for not being as sufficient as you are, you never know their situation. It is genuinely hard to love yourself and not depend on other people’s opinions of you to hold your self-esteem, and most of us rely on our friends for hobbies, interests, and just the fact that they want us around. It’s difficult to always have money for everything, and not everybody can grow all their own food. So can we ever be truly self-sufficient? The answer is yes, but very few people have the inner stability and resources to do so. If you grow all your own food and have a farm with animals, never ask anybody for a dime, and depend on nobody ever, for anything, you can be self-sufficient in every aspect. So, are you willing to put in the work? Or nah?