The Truth About Self-Reliance

You might not want to hear this, no matter what side you're on.

There’s something important to realize about self-reliance.

It’s usually impractical to be 100% self-reliant and it’s usually impractical to be 100% reliant on others.

Yes, sure, you can grow your own food. You can fix your own car. You can write your own software.

But at what cost?

Our society advances faster when we can each focus on one thing and get really good at it. When we have experts with deep expertise, they’re able to share that expertise and inform the rest of the community.

We’re a team.

I don’t have to make my own roads and dig up my own gasoline. I don’t have to build my own transistors and computer logic board. I don’t have to dig my own well and pull water. I don’t have to make my own electricity. The list goes on.

I rely on other people and the systems that others have put in place to help me with all of those things so that I can focus on building deep expertise in another area and share with the world.

We’re a team.

The other extreme is just as valid. If I completely rely on others for everything, like laundry, cooking, changing a light bulb, fixing a door hinge, etc., etc. then I lose, too. I end up spending resources on services to help me when it would have been more efficient or at least more cost-effective to just do it myself.

There’s a sweet spot in the middle and it’s different for all of us. It can depend on our interests and values just as much as it can depend on where we live and our local economy.

My point is that if you want to contribute to the world, it’s better to be really good at one thing. If you want to be happy, it’s better to be good at lots of things.

These aren’t mutually exclusive. You can be an expert in underwater welding and still make your own pasta, play piano, and go duck hunting on the weekends. There’s plenty of room for that and it’s my opinion that you have to do both.

A good way to advance yourself and the world is by considering deep expertise as a contribution to others and by considering what skills you’ll enjoy developing.

If you get all your happiness or self-worth from one place, what happens when it goes away? It’s just like diversifying your financial portfolio. You need to diversify your sources of happiness and self-worth.

To me, this is a smart way to build a strong foundation for a happy life.

I’m far from perfect and I don’t have everything figured out so, I’d love to hear your thoughts about this strategy and what’s missing.

Until then, thanks for being on team human with me.