Day 58: Emotional Self Sufficiency

Dear Student,

Today is our last lesson, and I’d like to remind you of one of the major, overarching benefits that the self-sufficient life offers: peace of mind…

Seneca praised “a mind that can abide itself when left to itself.”

A simple part of emotional self-sufficiency is provided by becoming physically self-sufficient and knowing you aren’t beholden to the whims of the world… what this course has been all about.

But aside from self-sufficiency in the physical world, self-sufficiency in the intangible emotional realm is equally important. That means having inner resources to lean on so that your tranquility and happiness does depend on external factors.

Should the “prepper” version of the world ever materialize, I can’t think of anything more emotionally sustaining than the knowledge that your family’s food, shelter, and medical well-being are fully protected and safe in your own two hands.

Seneca also said, “A man is happy when no circumstance can reduce him; he keeps to the heights and uses no buttress but himself, for a man sustained by a bolster is liable to fall. If this is not so, then many factors outside ourselves will begin to have power over us.”

Simply put, rely on no one and nothing but yourself and you will find happiness.

Emotional self-sufficiency is tantamount to self-reliance—the ability to rebound confidently when negative external factors impact us thanks to what you’ve already got.

While emotional self-sufficiency comes from within, that’s not to say you must be an island in order to achieve it. A community is an important part of anyone’s life, and the self-sufficient life begets friendships through interacting and trading with your neighbors and those with similar interests. Meeting like-minded people is a great way of getting new information and advice.

What is gained by emotional self-sufficiency…?

• A greater sense of freedom and greater control of one’s life…
• Eating healthier and happier knowing what went into growing and raising your own food…
• Reduced dependence on money, as you won’t have to try fill emotional voids with material things…

Consider the emotional characteristics below…

• Being needy.
• Afraid of being alone (do you deflect from this by activities such as drinking, constantly checking your phone, etc.?).
• Regularly hurt by the supposed actions or inactions of others.
• Looking to others to make you happy or for approval.

If you can find any of these characteristics in yourself, consider working on your emotional self-sufficiency. Again, being more physically self-sufficient generates a feeling of self-worth that many don’t get from their daily lives, whether the problem is an unrewarding or unfulfilling job or a general lack of personal achievement.

Emotionally self-sufficient people are authentic; they can be themselves, wearing no masks or putting on no airs to please others. They have a good internal locus of control, with emotions unaffected by the actions of others.