Learning how to be independent is a key step you must take in experiencing personal growth and fulfillment. Being independent means you’re bold enough to make your own decisions and navigate through life without relying solely on others. It is something everyone must be willing to learn and work towards. In this article, I will share 15 practical ways on how to be independent so you can activate your true potential. Let’s go into it!
Key Takeaways
- Independence entails personal autonomy and one’s ability to make decisions without relying solely or excessively on others for guidance or support.
- Independence helps to make one self-reliant and capable of making decisions based on their judgment. As a result, this would allow for personal growth as you’re more open to exploring and taking risks and learning from your experiences.
- While independence promotes personal growth and healthy boundaries, codependence leads to emotional exhaustion and a lack of personal fulfillment.
- If you want to know how to be independent you can start by learning more about yourself, spending more time with yourself, building your confidence, advocating for yourself, being your own support system, and improving your social skills.
What Is Independence?
According to the American Psychological Association (APA), independence means “freedom from the influence or control of other individuals or groups”.
It entails personal autonomy and one’s ability to make decisions without relying solely or excessively on others for guidance or support.
Independence involves a level of emotional self-sufficiency. Independent people have a strong sense of themselves and can make decisions that align with their beliefs and values with little or no external influences. They are not afraid to follow their dreams because they are not trying to live up to the expectations that people or society have.
They are also introspective which allows them to look inward and make decisions that improve their personal well-being.
Nevertheless, it is important to note that being independent does not mean you should isolate yourself from others. You must find a harmonious balance between independence and also acknowledging the role and importance of having healthy relationships with people around you.
Why Is Independence a Good Thing?
Independence is a great quality that everyone should possess for several reasons. It helps to make one self-reliant and capable of making decisions based on their judgment. As a result, this would allow for personal growth as you’re more open to exploring and taking risks and learning from your experiences.
Independence also makes you more responsible. When you are independent, you know that you are accountable for your actions and choices because you made them without external influence. Hence, you’re more responsible and willing to accept the consequences of your actions whether they come as achievements or mistakes.
In addition to that, independence also contributes to your creativity and innovation. It allows you to bring your originality into play. As an independent person, you have the freedom to explore new ideas and also challenge societal conventions on how you choose to respond to certain situations.
Also, independence helps you assert your needs to people and also establish boundaries where necessary. This means that while you acknowledge that you need people around you, you are also not overly dependent on them for support and validation. Thus, being independent helps to improve your sense of self-esteem and self-worth.
Lastly, independence contributes to personal fulfillment and satisfaction. When you are independent in setting and achieving your goals on your own terms, you get a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction with yourself. This would consequently lead to an improvement in your overall happiness and well-being.
15 Practical Ways How to Be Independent
Nobody is born independent. It is an important quality that can be learned and developed. Here are 15 practical ways on how to be independent:
1. Learn More About Yourself
Learning more about yourself and understanding yourself better is one practical way on how to be independent. It helps you to realize your strengths and weaknesses, as well as your values. This in turn helps you to make the best decisions for yourself without depending on others. To learn more about yourself, you could try journaling and meditation.
2. Spend More Time With Yourself
Some people find it difficult to be alone without people around them, much less actually enjoying their time alone. You need to get used to spending more time with yourself and enjoying it if you want to become independent. Go on solo dates, a walk in the park, or a free day spent in solitude.
3. Build Your Confidence
In learning how to be independent, building your confidence is essential. When you are confident, you can make decisions without constantly seeking validation from others because you trust yourself to make the best choice for yourself. You can build confidence in yourself by embracing self-care and encouraging yourself to take risks.
4. Advocate for Yourself
Being independent means you should be able to speak up for yourself and what you want or need. That’s what advocating for yourself entails. It involves you being assertive and bold enough to ask for what you want or need and go for it.
5. Be Your Own Support System
An independent person is not someone who relies on others for support and validation. Hence, to learn how to be independent, you must learn to be your own support system. You should be able to see to your physical and mental well-being especially when you experience challenges or setbacks.
6. Improve Your Social Skills
Some people have the misconception that independence means isolating yourself from others but that’s not true.
Having good social skills helps you to form meaningful relationships with people.
To improve your social skills, practice active listening, effective communication, empathy, and understanding in your interaction with people.
7. Set Boundaries
Another practical way on how to have independence is by setting boundaries. Setting and communicating your boundaries with others grants you the freedom to make decisions that align with your needs and values, without being influenced by others.
8. Learn Practical Life Skills
Being independent requires you to have a mastery of important life skills. This includes skills like financial management, time management, decision-making, problem-solving, basic home repairs, cooking, etc. These skills help you through challenges you might encounter without having to rely on those around you for help.
9. Set Small Goals for Yourself Daily
Setting daily goals for yourself is another way to become more independent. By setting those goals and going on to achieve them, your sense of fulfillment makes you more confident. Making a practice of this will in turn keep you focused on your goals and less dependent on others.
10. Practice Good Housekeeping
Practicing good housekeeping is another way to learn independence. Housekeeping entails keeping your home clean, organized and well-maintained. This practice makes you self-sufficient as you don’t have to depend on others to do it for you.
11. Earn Your Own Money and Pay Your Bills
Earning your own money is another way to become independent. When you are earning your own money, you are able to foot your bills yourself. Hence, you will no longer have to depend on others for your financial needs.
12. Create a Budget for Your Spending
Creating a budget for your spending is an important aspect of financial independence. Having a budget ensures that you have control over your money and you remain conscious of your financial goals. It helps you avoid making rational decisions that could harm your finances. You’re able to make better decisions on spending, saving, and investing.
13. Start Saving Money to Retire Early
One other essential way to be independent is by planning for your retirement. Many people wish to retire at an early age but have no plan in place for that to happen. To be independent, you have to start saving to retire early enough. You also need to be careful with your spending.
14. Cultivate the Habit of Saving and Investing
If you want to learn how to be independent, then you must cultivate the habit of saving and investing.
Having a saving culture ensures that when emergencies come up you don’t have to be dependent on people for financial support. It is also important to make investments so that you can grow your money.
15. Plan for the Future
Another practical way on how to be independent is by planning for the future. This involves setting long-term goals and having a game plan on how to achieve them. Your goal might be to retire at a particular age or to further your education. Whatever it is, make sure you have a plan on how to achieve it.
Learning how to be independent is a lifelong journey that requires continuous effort, self-discipline, and self-motivation. By applying these practical tips, you can definitely improve your independence.
How to Make Your Kids Independent
Parents are the primary caretakers of their children but there comes a time when they must leave their children to stand on their own rather than enabling or indulging them. As a parent, here are some helpful tips on how to make your kids independent:
Give Them Chores
To raise independent kids, assign chores that are appropriate for their ages to them. It could be as simple as tidying their room or taking out the trash. This helps to prepare them for responsibilities as they grow into adulthood.
Teach Them How To Save (And Spend) Money
It is important to teach children the concept of money management from a young age. Parents can train their children to be independent by teaching them how to make budgets before spending and to also save out of their allowance. Training them this way ensures that they grow into financially literate adults.
Encourage Them to Do Tasks Alone
Children should also be encouraged to carry out tasks independently. It can be something as simple as them choosing their outfit or tying their shoelaces. This would help the child to feel more confident in approaching difficult or new situations.
Offer Choices and Freedom but Within Limits
By providing a child with the freedom to make choices independently, you allow them to build their decision-making skills. Putting boundaries or limits around the choices they choose to make also helps to teach them that actions and decisions have consequences and they must learn how to deal with them as well.
Allow Them to Attend Sleepovers
Parents should allow their children to attend sleepovers. This will improve their social skills. They will also be able to form bonds with people other than their parents.
Let Them Make Mistakes
Allowing children to make mistakes might be difficult for the children sometimes but it will be a valuable lesson for them. Rather than always shielding and protecting them, when your children make mistakes encourage them to take responsibility for their actions and teach them how to handle the same situation better in the future.
Praise Them When They Do Well
It is important to praise your children when they do well. Praising them helps to build their confidence, which would make them more independent. It also encourages them to be bold and try new things because they believe they can do it.
How to Be Independent of Your Parents
Becoming independent from your parents requires you to transition from relying on them to being self-sufficient. Here are some practical steps to follow if you desire to go on this transformative journey of independence:
Talk to Them About Your Independence
The first step is to talk to your parents about your independence. If you think you’ve reached an age where your parents should have granted you more freedom, then you can have a conversation with them and let them know how you feel about it.
Get Your Own Place
Perhaps you’re done with high school or college, another way to get independence from your parents is to get your own place. Of course, a lot of financial planning must be put in place before you make this decision. But getting your own place will help you in gaining your independence from your parents.
Find Financial Freedom
Your parents are responsible for caring for you and meeting your needs and they have probably done this for all your life. Hence, getting financial freedom is one way to become independent from your parents. You can get a job and become financially literate so that you can make wise decisions concerning your finances.
Gain Emotional Independence
Gaining emotional independence is another way to get your independence from your parents. It involves you developing the ability to handle life’s challenges independently without relying on your parents for support.
Learn Basic Skills
Learning basic skills like cooking, house cleaning, driving, basic home repairs, etc. also equips you to be independent from your parents. Having these skills ensures that you are not dependent on them to get such tasks done.
How to Become Independent as a Student
As a student, learning how to become independent is an important step towards ensuring your personal growth and success in your academics. Some practical steps on how to be independent as a student include:
- Develop time management skills
- Set goals
- Manage your finances
- Develop self-discipline
- Build strong communication skills
- Learn to solve problems independently
- Reflect and learn from experiences
Independence vs. Codependence
Independence and codependence are two contrasting approaches to relationships. On one hand, independence refers to the quality of being self-reliant and capable of fulfilling one’s needs and making decisions independently. It emphasizes a sense of responsibility and healthy self-esteem.
On the other hand, codependence is an unhealthy pattern where one is excessively dependent on others for emotional validation, self-worth, and identity. Codependent people often put other people’s needs and desires above theirs. They neglect themselves and may struggle with low self-esteem.
While independence promotes personal growth and healthy boundaries, codependence leads to emotional exhaustion and a lack of personal fulfillment.
You can move from codependence to independence. It requires you to be self-aware and build your self-esteem.
If you need professional help, you can also book a session with one of our counselors.
Learn How to Become More Independent With the Help of a Counselor
If you are still feeling unsure and not quite clear on how to become independent, you can learn better with the help of a therapist. Through therapy, you will come to understand yourself better and see what strategies work best for you. We have a team of therapists you can speak to on how you can become more independent. Don’t hesitate to reach out to one of them here.
Conclusion
Becoming independent is a journey of self-discovery and it does not happen in one day. It requires you to be determined and willing to step out of your comfort zone. Remember that independence is not about isolation but about empowering yourself to make choices autonomously. Don’t be scared to embrace the unknown. Be willing to step out of your comfort zone because sometimes that’s the only way we can create the life we truly want and deserve.
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