Self-reliance is something that most of us want to accomplish. However, it is not easy to do so. Ralph Waldo Emerson is the person who made the concept well-known among the public. Self-reliance plays a huge role in positive psychology. It is a vital concept as it can help one achieve happiness. You might notice some overlap between being more self-reliant and resilience, self-knowledge, self-expression, and self-worth. To become more self-reliant, you should consider the following tips.
Accept Yourself
The first thing that you need to do to become more self-reliant is accept yourself. You have to be your own best friend if you want to grow as a person. Learn and appreciate your strengths to support yourself in life. Think about your character strengths. You might be kind, brave, or just curious. In addition to this, you also need to reflect on all your achievements and what you want to achieve to feel proud about yourself.
Inner Confidence
We live in a society where we have been conditioned to feel happy when we are complimented, praised, and reassured by others. If they are not forthcoming, we might end up feeling vulnerable or insecure. When you are self-reliant, you are more likely to feel confident about yourself. Practice increasing your self-worth to gain inner confidence.
Make Your Own Decisions
To be more self-reliant, you cannot continuously look outside for help and acceptance. It is important that you accept yourself as a unique individual. It will provide you with inner security. You have to be non-judgmental with yourself and others to be successful. As kids, most of us are taught to look for guidance from others in order to make decisions or solve problems. However, such a tendency can become ingrained and we might struggle with handling adversity on our own.
Recognize and Manage Dependence
Next, you must become aware of when you turn to others in search of self-knowledge. Although we can turn to others from time to time, it is better to try to resolve issues on our own to build up our confidence. Start by setting goals for yourself and work towards achieving them by putting in the effort. You can reward yourself for it.
Have Your Own Values
Now, it is not necessary for us to have the same values as society and it is perfectly fine to have our valued. However, we tend to overlook them. If our values are different from those of society, it can leave us experiencing difficulty when it comes to accepting ourselves. You are likely to feel cognitive dissonance in such a situation. This is why you need to allow yourself to have different values.
Not Relying on Something to Feel Happy
Finally, you have to stop relying on things to feel happy. When we associate our happiness with material possessions, it prevents us from becoming more self-reliant. Therefore, it is crucial that you learn to let go of this reliance to learn to rely on yourself for everything including happiness.
Once you finish reading this post, you will have an easier time being more self-reliant. Follow the tips mentioned above to be your best self. It helps set you free.