Self-reliance is both a myth and incredibly important for happiness. To avoid this dilemma we should shift our focus from helping people become self-reliant to helping them become self-actualized.
First, please allow me to make the case that self-reliance is a myth. For one, I recognize that I am not self-reliant. Gail, my wife of almost 34 years, has shared the financial load during our marriage at least equally. She supports me in a variety of other ways as well.
Earlier, I was raised by caring parents who provided a great home. While they were fond of reminding us we weren’t rich, we also never went hungry or worried about food. There was never a question of whether I’d go to college, only a bit about how I’d pay for it.
My entire education was in public schools, except, perhaps my time in business school at Cornell, which is operated in part as a public university and partly as a private one. Chances are good that you helped pay to educate me one way or another.
