How to Become Self-Reliant in 6 Simple Steps

One thing that came out of the speech that Modi Ji gave on 12th May is the exigency and importance to become a self-reliant country. Economically, we may become a self-independent country very soon. But as an individual are we self-reliant? Each individual should develop self-reliant qualities. And use this pandemic pause as an opportunity to rise in the 21st century.

But what is self-reliance? What is the impact of being self-reliant on our lives? How to become such a person?

All the above questions would be answered below so that by the time you complete this article. You will have the exact idea and a picture of a self-reliant person.

The topic “Self-Reliance" was first published in 1841 collection, Essays: First Series. Written by US philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson. He believed that self-reliance and self-trust, amongst other things, would help us overcome the conformity of others and become a more responsible person.

So how do you define this term?

Self-reliance is the ability to do things and make decisions by yourself and overcome relational or social dependence. At the same time understanding the difference between socialism and social dependency.

It’s not about doing everything yourself. But it’s the realization of your strengths. That you are complete without the presence of another person.

Although having a social bond, great relationships are vital to enrich your lives. But the problem arises when you are unable to do things without the help of others. It hinders your personal growth, lowers down your self-confidence and self-worth. In brief, those who are self-reliant and independent can survive through these difficult times.

So the next question that comes to mind, what are those qualities that makes a person self-reliant? To answer this, here I present 6 simple steps to become a self-reliant person.

1. Accept the Responsibility

Being a self-reliant person means you take control of your life. To begin with, answer the questions below to realize yourself the level of responsibility you commit.

o Do you blame other people around for your mistakes?

o Do you often make excuses for not completing the targets?

o Do you bemoan your situation more often?

o Do you often break your commitments and promises?

o Do you often wait for someone to guide or help you to take actions/decisions?

If most of your answers were No, then you are on the right path to becoming a self-reliant person. Such people always accept the responsibility of who they are and what they do. And in case you answered Yes in any of these, then all you have to do is work upon yourself until you can answer No.

2. Work upon your Inner Confidence

Realizing your strengths and working on your weaknesses is relevant to sustain throughout your life. People who live on validation, compliments and reassurance from other people, often become vulnerable in the absence of these. A self-reliant person knows that all these compliments and assurance may not be present at all times. He/she finds happiness and assurance for his/her work through conscience and self-judgement.

Following are a few ways you can boost your self-confidence.

o Do one thing that you always find difficult

o Affirm yourself

o Be your critic

o Help/care someone else

o Start working on rejections

o Celebrate little accomplishments

3. Start caring for Yourself

Looking after yourself is the foremost step in the path of achieving self-reliance. Nourishing yourself with mindfulness, eating healthy and inculcating good habits & skills are some of the few things to start caring for yourself.

We often rely on people other than ourselves for cooking. While it may not be one of your interests but it’s quite a necessity in times of pandemic.

I have already written about the skills you can start learning to be more productive in my previous post. Go through the link below and chose the one best suits you.

Link: https://www.crisptalkers.com/post/6-things-you-can-master-during-the-lock-down

Although the above is written with lockdown days in mind, these skills can always help you enrich your life.

4. Accept your emotions and feelings

We often try to suppress those obsessive thoughts we find difficult to move through. Mindfulness meditation helps you accept your emotions without judging them and move through these thoughts creating a sense of space and calmness in mind.

You can also try and maintain a daily diary where you reflect on your daily emotions you felt through the day. This will help you bring out the frustrations and excitement to relax your mind before going to bed every night.

5. Become a Leader

There are always thousands of followers but only one leader. Leaders are required to make decisions, learn from mistakes, find opportunities from failures and move through major setbacks. In short, all skills that make you a self-reliant person. Leaders often are alone and hence independent on their way to success. Instead of feeling alone, they keep working on their visions and motivate others to follow the same together.

You can become a leader by taking control of your lives, taking responsibilities and making your decisions by yourself. And when you become a leader, people around you get inspired to follow.

6. Failure or Opportunity

When we challenge our limits, we may fail most often. But as you challenge your capabilities and limits, you start exploring yourself. Start something new today. It can be a new skill or a new hobby. Chances are, you will fail miserably. But the experience you gain will help you put extra efforts which would be better.

When you start looking failures as an opportunity to learn and grow, you start controlling your life and thus become a self-reliant person.

Self-reliance is a necessity today. It’s a practice worth building so you make your life worth memorable and proud of. Share your views and tell me what being self-reliant means to you in the comment section.