Self-reliance with Integrity Essay

If we have to understand what self-reliance with integrity means, we should first understand the meaning of these two terms which are very important for us to have if we want to live in a better way.

What is Self-Reliance?

Self-reliance is a very important part of life, something that is needed at some point or the other throughout our life. Everyone should have at least some amount of self-reliance and it is okay if someone is more self-reliant than us as it is something that people learn with time. The more we get to know about its importance, the more we practice it in our life.

Reliance refers to someone's own abilities and efforts that they make to tackle their problems. It could be said that a self-reliant person is someone who does not shy away from sharing their personal thoughts and feelings even if they do not have the support of their peers. To be self-reliant, a person does not need to do a lot. Small efforts of not asking others for help too soon and trying to be one's own hero can be considered an act of self-reliance.

In order to live a self-reliant life, a person just needs to make independent decisions and think without being influenced by others. They also need to be brave and consistent so that they can solve most problems themselves without having to ask others for their help.

To sum up, what self-reliance means, considering yourself independent of others' opinions, thinking and performing independently in life situations is what a self-reliant person does.

Understanding Integrity

Now, the next important thing that we should understand in order to relate between self-reliance and integrity is the meaning of the word 'integrity'. This word originated from the Latin word 'integer' which refers to being 'complete' and 'whole'. So, integrity's translation actually means a sense of completeness in anyone or anything and that is exactly the aim of this moral behavior.

Integrity acts as a tool that helps in building moral ethics that in turn eliminate corruption and disloyalty to others as well as ourselves. Integrity is a very important concept to have a sound society which is free of moral evils. It offers a sense of moral well-being in our surroundings and within us.

Relation between the Two

Integrity and self-reliance go hand in hand and they both are very important to build a positive personality. A morally ideal person is someone who makes decisions independently and doesn't rely on others but those decisions are also free of any kind of wrongs.

A person who is morally correct and righteous is the one who has conquered ego, greed, passion and fear as well. That person is supposed to be miles away from the idea of corruption. Self-reliance can be directly compared to self-confidence. A person who has confidence in his personality and always keeps honesty as the basis of any work or goal is the kind of person who would be able to overcome all the obstacles.

A good example of a revolutionary act of self-reliance is our country as it proceeds towards continuous years of independence. The struggle of self-reliant freedom fighters of India who fought until their last breaths and played a major role in the fight for independence. The freedom fighters of India decided to take the matter of independence into their own hands and started practicing movements that grew bigger and bigger because of the right cause behind them. These people did not depend on anyone and decided to raise their voices on their own. This is exactly why these freedom fighters' struggles give us a lesson of self-reliance in addition to bravery.

The relation between self-reliance and Integrity is that a person cannot be self-reliant and work of his own free will unless he gives room to integrity which in turn has honesty as an important factor. Honesty as a part of someone's character can be the most attractive thing they can possess themselves. An honest person will try his level best to wipe out evil from their surroundings. They aren't mean to anyone or narrow-minded but instead, they think about the betterment of the society

A self-reliance person means that he Is not bound by the rules and regulations of the society and considers himself as independent to 'do his own thing' and make his own independent decisions which are free from all evils that evil free conscience is offered by integrity which help in wisely choosing what is right and what is not. Even for the person who has nothing else to be proud of, he or she can always take pride in their integrity and morally correct behaviour. Integrity also helps in making a person form good bonds with everyone around them as they can be trusted and their righteousness is visible.

But, the important thing about integrity is that it cannot be taught to anyone overnight. It is rather a virtue that originated from within a person. Integrity is something a man needs to be proud of because it is a valuable possession no one can take away from him. Integrity means being honest and authentic to oneself and following a strict set of rules. Without integrity, the world would be merely anarchy.

Instead of looking to other people, rulers, customs, and cultures to tell you what is worthwhile, take some time to reflect on what you consider worthwhile. The ultimate form of self-reliance is not needing society or anyone else to tell you what is most important; it's you deciding for yourself.

Four specific areas are directly impacted by this "revolution of self-reliance." First, is religion; advocates for unity, for seeking the good of all, rather than separation, and dualism.

All the properties and positive factors that are written above are a part of self-reliance and there is much more to it.

As people know more about self-reliance, some form very wrong concepts about it. Self-reliance is not all about doing things yourself without the consideration of anyone around. It is also not completely referring to being financially independent either. And it's definitely not about facing all hardships all alone and not having anyone around at rough times. This article gives a detailed explanation about what is the true meaning of being self-reliant and how we can develop this as a part of our personality.

The Psychology of Self-Reliance

If you talk about the significance of self-reliance in positive psychology, it is very much due to the implications for happiness offered by self-reliance. The concept of self-reliance is overlapping with other concepts such as self-worth, self-acceptance, self-knowledge and resilience, very often.

It is surprising how we do not have a single sorted definition that completely explains the concept of self-reliance considering the fact that science and statistics today can explain anything and everything in the most appropriate way possible. But we do have an understanding that self-reliance is linked to 'the self' in a psychological sense for a long time. It is often mentioned alongside the definition of 'self' that is discussed in the study of 'self' in psychology.

Ralph Waldo Emerson on Self-Reliance

Ralph Waldo Emerson was an essayist from America who wrote a lot of critically appreciated works and one of his very famous essays is the one on self-reliance where he gives a deep insight into the true meaning of self-reliance in addition to its application, importance and its parts which also include integrity as a very important one.

It is not that the essayist introduced the concept of self-reliance but he brought great attention to this idea through his 1841 essay which got very popular and is widely discussed as well as appreciated.

Self-reliance was the title as well as the topic of his famous essay of 1841. The essayist was born in 1803 in Boston, and he used to give lectures and essays that influenced a lot of people including some great writers and poets such as Walt Whitman.

The essay contains Waldo's perspectives and beliefs about the negative impact of society on our individual growth. He strongly argued for the belief that through self-trust, self-reliance and individual decisions, we can avoid being undesired conformity imposed upon us either through someone else or through ourselves.

The essay in itself is a very powerful piece of work and there many important things that should be emphasized when referring to the importance of self-reliance with integrity but here are some points.

3 Examples of Self-Reliance

There are a number of things that can be construed from Waldo's essay. Below written are some examples of a few significant concepts that are highly visible in his essay.

1. Thinking Independently

The ability to think on our own goes hand in hand with trusting our own instinct. It is often observed that people tend to hide behind what they have learned from society over the years. This might be mere imitation and linked with a lack of confidence in one's own intuition and rational capabilities.

2. Embracing our Individuality

A very important aspect of self-reliance is to accept our individual desires and then act on them rather than seeking out others. Our individual desires are proof that all of us have something of own to do in life and give our life meaning. This is often not achieved because people act on others' advice and pathways that leave them unhappy at the end of their life.

Self-reliance teaches us to act on our own will and do what our heart tells us to do rather than seeking companionship or validation from others. Accepting what our heart desires despite objections from outside is a very important step towards being self-reliant.

3. Striving Towards Own Goals

There is a huge difference between accepting something and working towards something. Even if we do embrace what our heart desires but it becomes harder as we move forth toward that dream. But the real test of self-reliance is to stick to our decisions bravely even if we face a lot of rejection. It is natural to have a fear of not being accepted but we should never let that fear have the better of us and trust ourselves when we go out there in the world.

These three important factors are very closely related to individualism but they should not be mistaken as cutting off ourselves from society. Man is a social animal and can't survive without society. What it tells us is to be true to own self, be able to have thoughts of our own, know what is it that we live and then pursue it independently without being worried about other people's judgements and viewpoints. This is not isolation from society but a way through which we can be a person of our own.

Integrity as an Important Pillar

As it is mentioned throughout the essay, self-reliance cannot be completely achieved if we do not have integrity in our moral behavior. Even if we do choose to follow our dreams and not be affected by the judgements and comments of other people, another challenge comes when we are to act ethically and choose the wise decision even if there is no one to praise us. Overcoming this challenge proves to be the ultimate act of self-reliance we work for ourselves and be true to ourselves without seeking shortcuts.

In the field of academics, there are a number of ethical policies and moral codes that are to be followed by the people in that field. This is called Academic Integrity and is a very important aspect that should be adapted to bring morality into our life. Students should develop academic integrity at an early stage so that they follow this habit throughout their life.

It is very important to have this quality of being true to ourselves even if no one is watching us. Honesty is often pursued because of the fear of the consequences of wrong actions but real honesty is seen when there might not be any consequences but we still choose to stick by the right thing. Academic integrity can be achieved through a lot of actions such as doing assignments and tests without cheating or external help, completing work without plagiarizing from someone else and making decisions ethically.

Not just students but also adults should have this habit of ethical decision-making in their day-to-day life. Professional integrity is something an employer of a company seeks in his staff so that they can be trusted completely. Professional integrity helps in increasing productivity as well as maintaining a positive work environment.

Conclusion

It is evident that self-reliance is a very important habit that everyone needs and should have in order to live their life with ease. Self-reliance teaches us that even the process of taking one's own decisions and creating one's own pathways is a reward of its own and it is only our own heartfelt decision which compels us to give our hundred percent in the work.

Integrity comes into play when we start doing what we individually decide but we have to choose between whether to do it the right way or the easy way and if we want to be morally right then should always choose the right way. Integrity acts as a way in which we can attain prosperity without doing much extra labour. It also promises happiness without any kind of guilt as we did not do any wrong to anyone. Choosing to be a self-reliant person and making ethical decisions makes us the best version of ourselves.