It is important to be around people that support you, love you, are compassionate with you and help to give you insight. Connecting with people and having a strong network is very important in life and can help you to feel better about who you are.
Even though having a strong network is good, it is important that you know your own strength and that you are able to do things in your life without relying on other people.
Tips for Self-Reliance
Here are some things that you can do to be self-reliant:
Responsibility
When you make choices and you are able to be responsible, do things that you agree to do and keep things under control, this is part of being self-reliant. You should never over-spend and have to depend on others to help you out of your mess.
Or, if you are having a problem in life, make a plan to fix it. Being responsible is not always fun but it will help you to build your own self-esteem.
Decisions
Being self-reliant means that you are able to make your own choices and decisions about your life. Even if these choices feel bad or seem wrong, making your own choices means that you are in control of your life. The harder part of doing this is learning to stop allowing other people to make choices for you.
If you have a hard time making your own decisions, start small such as choosing what restaurant to go to when you go out with your friends and then work up to bigger decisions.
Skills
Having skills can help you to not feel that you always have to depend on others to help you. You should be able to call someone if you need an expert, but if you just need something that is not very hard or complicated, learn to do it yourself.
Fixing your home, for example, might be hard, but there are small things you can do such as change your filter or other basic things. Maybe you cannot change the electrical, but there are small things you can do on your own.
Learn to do things around your home such as plumbing, and cooking and you can become more self-reliant.
Body
You should not self-medicate or self-diagnose, but you can do things such as workout, eat healthier, brush your teeth and other things that can keep you healthy and clean.
Learn about diseases and symptoms and know what you should do if you are having certain side effects. Doing small things for yourself can help you on your journey to being self-reliant.
Feelings
Some people like to hide their feelings because they have a hard time expressing them. When you have issues and you become frustrated, learn to concentrate on what you are feeling and push away your frustration. Become self-reliant and tune into what is going on inside of you.
If you do not know how to start, start by journaling. Write down what you are feeling and why you are feeling that way. Learn to be able to talk about yourself and your feelings even when it is hard or uncomfortable. Be mindful and enhance your mind and your judgement in life.
Negative Emotions
Once you have learned to be able to express your feelings, learn to name them. If you are having negative feelings, call them out instead of pushing them aside. Learn to keep your anger to yourself or at the problem and not to take it out on other people.
If you are upset, learn to do something to ease your pain such as exercising or going for a walk.
Comparing
You should never compare or judge yourself based on other people. Look to yourself and learn to accept who you are and what you can do. You are good and you are worthy of happiness but when you see yourself as less than others, chances are you will become bummed out about who you are.
Take time to write down a few things you like about who you are and put this up on your mirror. Say it to yourself each day and talk about your unique abilities and talents. This can encourage you and lift your self-esteem.
Codependency
Learn to overcome codependency by thinking about what makes you happy and what makes you different as an individuals, looking to have others make you feel worthy and by learning to do things on your own that you can accomplish.
If you work hard and stay positive, you can become the self-reliant person that you want to be.