Stop Relying On Others For Your Happiness
Self-reliance is a skill
While the world is changing faster than ever, people are not. Ralph Waldo Emerson said it best in his 1841 essay called Self-Reliance:
“Society is a wave. The wave moves onward, but the water of which it is composed does not.”
The problems we’re facing with ourselves and other people are not new. And one of those problems is that we are needy. Why is that a problem?
We often turn outwardly for important things: Happiness, advice, affection, love, approval. We ask experts for advice. We use drugs when we’re in pain. We expect others to solve our problems.
When we look at ourselves, we never even consider that we might not need those things. Being part of society is great and all. But never take it too far. Otherwise, you become a dependent robot who can’t function by itself.
It’s much better to rely on yourself. Not in a selfish way. But in an emotional way. You don’t need others to be happy. It’s one of the paradoxes in life. We want to be liked and loved by the ones we care about.
But at the same time, we believe that it’s bad to depend on yourself. But it’s not. The more self-reliant you are, the better you feel about…
