Self Reliance is a cultural myth that tends to go against left brain logic such as going against obstacles or barriers. Self Reliance is also known as “Rugged individualism” and is a sense of individuality. The myth is that in American culture, the young and the strong are easily adaptable and are able to express themselves freely. However the elderly might struggle with self reliance because with age they typically start needing help. It is also suggested that women, poor, disabled people, and other minorities struggle with self reliance because they can lack control of their life circumstances.
I believe Self Reliance and how it affects each age group and even gender, is a false myth. I believe self reliance can be different for each person individually based on their environment, their background, their personality etc. For example I know disabled people who are more independent and have self reliance more than some able-bodied people. I have seen elderly people be more self reliant than a 20 year old. I believe someone’s environment has a lot of influence on the level of self reliance one may have. In the article “The Self Reliant Generation” it discusses why the younger generation may tend to be a bit more resilient than the older generation. It goes on to explain how a “glaring feature of millennial culture is they have been forced to be self-reliant and to take a loosely networked individualism as the normal order of the universe. Millennials have extremely low social trust. According to Pew Research, just 19 percent say most people can be trusted, compared with 40 percent of boomers.” (1) the younger generation lacks trust and because of distrust being their environment, they have learned to only rely on themselves for help. With the older generation growing up in a different environment they are much more trusting and able to rely on others. However again it’s their environment that affects these statistics. So a young adult that has always relied on others will continue to do so. An elder that has always been forced to be independent will continue to be self resilient. I don’t think it’s fair to group an entire age group as resilient or not because everyone has their own factors that influence how resilient they are.
Self reliance is something that can develop and grow as well. Self individuality, and independence are all things someone can work on. For example a disabled person may seem like they have no independence or won’t be able to do much in a society, however self reliance is developed over the years. Learning how to brush your hair, shower, walk, climb stairs etc. It’s the want and need to feel independent. Some people have the want and some people don’t. Some people work on their independence and some rely on everyone else. In an article “7 Tips For Increasing Self Reliance” The author talks about the many different ways someone can build their self reliance and independence. “Your self-reliance will be hampered by any strong tendency to judge your worth or access compared to others. Start looking inwards for acceptance and worth, instead of being unable to view yourself positively” (2) It goes on to explain how self Reliance has a lot to do with your confidence in yourself and what you have to offer. What kind of skills does a person have? If they have a lot of skills under their belt, they are less likely to ask for help and rely on someone else. This goes for any age group, not just one or the other. It goes back to the environment. If you were raised in an environment where you are confident, trust yourself, accept your feelings whether they be good or bad in a healthy way, accept responsibility, and make your own decisions you are more likely to rely on yourself because you are confident with your decision making. If you have the want to be self reliant, you will be regardless of age. A personal experience of mine is my great grandmother. She was 80 years old barely able to walk but would refuse help from anybody because she believed she could do it herself. Even if her hands were shaking so much she was spilling milk on the counter instead of her cup, she would refuse help and continue to clean her mess afterwards. Self reliance is a mind set.
Self reliance in American culture is a false myth because it assumes the elder generations struggle with independence and sense of individuality. In the article “Struggle With Self Reliance? Why It’s So Tricky As We Get Older” The author who is in her 60’s talks about how self-reliant she is and how it affects her in her own life. “Like many people, I’ve become more self-reliant as I’ve gotten older. Tossed and tumbled on the sea of life, the decades hammering away at dreams and plans. Add a fair portion of disappointments and reversals and I’ve become downright Emersonian in my views: Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. — Ralph Waldo Emerson” (3) The self reliance myth in American culture assumes that the older/elderly have less self reliance than the younger generation. In many cases like this article, that’s not true. The author explains how as she has gotten older her self-reliance and self individualism has gotten stronger because her confidence within herself has also gotten stronger. She has developed self reliance over time, so much so that she even questions if she has too much self reliance. She has such a strong need to not rely on others and make it very clear that she doesn’t need anybody but herself. She wonders if there’s such a thing as too much self reliance as it could potentially push loved ones away and it can become isolating. “I have a strong sense of self, confidence in my abilities (okay, maybe over-confident sometimes), and an unshakable belief that I can weather any emotional storm. — Is my insistence on doing things alone until it becomes the default habit, such a good thing?
I believe Self Reliance and how it affects each age group and even gender, is a false myth. I believe self reliance can be different for each person individually based on their environment, their background, their personality etc. It is not divided between young age groups and elderly age groups. Everyone can be self resilient and have a sense of self individuality if they have the right mind set and if their environment encouraged independence. Claiming an older generation is less resilient because they are older is age discrimination. I believe age has no factor in self resilience. I think there are different levels of self resilience and they all are determined on outside factors that have influenced who someone is as a person. So in my personal opinion the Myth of Self reliance in American culture is a false myth.
- Brooks, David. “The Self-Reliant Generation.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 8 Jan. 2016, https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/08/opinion/the-self-reliant-generation.html.
- Katherine HurstKatherine Hurst used to live a normal life until something happened that changed her life forever. She discovered the Law of Attraction and began a new. “7 Tips for Increasing Self-Reliance.” The Law Of Attraction, 29 Apr. 2021, https://www.thelawofattraction.com/7-tips-increasing-self-reliance/.
- Trombley, Jane. “Struggle with Self-Reliance? Why It’s so Tricky as We Get Older.” Medium, Medium, 9 May 2018, https://medium.com/@3scoreandmore/struggle-with-self-reliance-why-its-so-tricky-as-we-age-c0f43500271.