Be Self Reliant

Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. Nothing can bring you peace but the triumph of principles. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson  Self reliance is the practice of being dependent only on yourself, and being able to care for yourself in any situation, it is well summarized by Emerson when he said that no man should suffer the humiliation of having to borrow your own idea from another person.

Steps

 * 1) List the ways that you are dependent on someone else. For each thing on your list, think of a way to be more independent. Write down the independent ways next to the dependent ways as a means to remind and guide you through this process.
 * 2) Start putting the independent practices from your list into action. Start with one new thing a week, or even daily, as you feel up to it.
 * 3) Defend your independence. Avoid anything that you think would compromise this independence.
 * 4)  Become self-sufficient. Grow your own food, make your own clothes, package your own daily lunch. Stop relying on others to do these things for you all the time. Naturally, it is not possible to be entirely self-sufficient but do as much as you can to achieve this state the best that you can.
 * 5)  Trust yourself. This is an important part of self-reliance. Learn to listen to your own instincts and reasoning about situations. Do not be swayed by societal opinion when you do not agree with it. Forge your own path and believe in what you are doing.
 * 6)  Work at all times, even when unemployed. Do not depend on others to fund your way through life. Find things to do, ways to raise money, and means to pay people back, even if in kind rather than in dollar. Keep yourself above the need for welfare and avoid the sense of victimization that often comes with welfare situations.
 * 7)  Be an individual and do not conform to the will of the crowd. Self-reliance means that you already know you can make your own way through difficult times without having to give in to the crazed and fearful ideas of the media, the down-trodden worker drones, and the over-educated purposeless lot. In being self-reliant, you know that to rely on your own dreams, your own strengths, and your own experience is to sufficient to guarantee a good, sane, and healthy life.

Tips

 * Anything that benefits your existence is "Good". Per Emerson, your thoughts are the most valid things to live by. As long as you don't harm others, go for what your intuition tells you is right. And grow as a person by actively living life, read some books critically, become more than you were yesterday so your intuition makes the most beneficial choices for your life.
 * Write down all your ideas and tell people about them.
 * Stay healthy, you aren't very self reliant if other people take care of you all the time.
 * Ride you bike.
 * Stop reading this article and come up with your own unique ideas.

Related Tips and Steps

 * How to Have Willpower
 * How to Be Positive
 * How to Be Independent
 * How to Become Independent

Sources and Citations

 * Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance; the actual text