Did you ever watch a baby being fed? A baby just can’t do much of anything for himself but as he grows, he begins to strike out for himself. He begins to develop something called self-reliance.
Often though, we are all restrained when we’re young. We aren’t given enough freedom to develop self-reliance. For example, it’s much easier to dress for a kid than to let him do it himself.
But as soon as the kid grow older, he’ll see it too, that it’s much easier to let others wait on him. He begins to like being dependent.
Thoughts like “why do it when someone else can do it for me” starts to come to mind (mum will do it for me, dad will help me get it done). Yes, it’s an easy way to get by.
But the truth is; if you’re not self-reliant, you’ll never do any more than just get by. You’ll never get ahead, and that is what happens if you don’t learn self-reliance.
If you’re not accomplishing more than you should, it may be that you’re not self-reliant. Self-reliance can do wonders for both young and old, it is one of imperative things to do if you want to be financially free.
But there are no quick formulas for this, there are just principles or steps to follow. So how can you be self-reliant?
The 4 Steps to Self-reliance
Learning to be self-reliant takes time and hard work. It takes self-reliance itself to be self-reliant. Here are 4 steps to self-reliance. Let’s figure them out.
Assume Responsibility
This simply means taking blames for things that are your fault. For a student it means doing your own school work, planning your own time, depending upon yourself to be on time.
For an adult it means doing things for yourself (that’s not a bad idea isn’t it?). Assuming responsibility means responding to what you can do and not waiting to be told to do it.
When there’s a challenge, don’t be among those who waste time talking all day about the problem, be proactive and be a solution finder; someone who will be ready to take the lead in solving a problem.
Be Informed
The next step to developing self-reliance is to be informed. Being informed means knowing detailed reasons why things are the way they are and are done the way they are done.
A student must be informed about facts, figures and theories about a subject if he’s going to excel in school. This requires assuming responsibility to get to the library and read extensively (beyond class work and assignments).
To be informed in life means staying updated on things that are outside the four walls of a class room.
It means knowing things you’re expected to know (how to dress for a certain type of occasion, staying updated about happenings in your environment etc.).
Talking to people and engaging in reasonable discussions can also help you get informed. Being informed can help you to easily find answers to a lot of problems.
Know where you’re going
The last two steps to self-reliance are inter-connected. If you know what you want in life, where you’re going won’t be easy to discern and if you do, you’ll be able to confidently make your own decisions.
For example, right from secondary education many students just jump into science, art or commercial class without knowing for sure where they are going in life.
The trend continues even at the university level. Parents want their wards to be an engineer, doctor, lawyer etc.
Helping these children to make such decisions (where you’re going) is one of the ways parents contribute to kids poor performance in school.
For example, to avoid the 5 common statements of regret made by university graduates, you should know where you’re going and be ready to make your own decisions.
As an adult, you should be informed about where you’re going, and be able to picture your future in your mind. If you can do this, you’ll be confident about staying on course to reach your destination.
Make your own decisions
True, at some point in time, you may need to seek advice of parents, elderly ones, professionals etc. but you should never ask them to make decisions for you.
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If you can’t make your own decisions then you’re not self-reliant. You must learn how to be confident in order to make your won decisions.
Think about your goals, your purposes, and learn to make decisions for your own self, based on facts and reliable information you get.
If you’re not lazy to learn about where you’re going, making your own decisions will come easy.
And that is self-reliance in 4 steps. One we could all use.
Remember, it takes hard work and self-reliance itself to be self-reliant. Assume responsibility, be informed, know where you’re going and be ready at all times to make your own decisions.
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