Being More Self-Sufficient Or Not – Helpful Information To Decide For Yourself

If you are seeking more independence and a more sustainable lifestyle, self-sufficiency is the way to go. The challenge is it may affect your prosperity and choices. This article will help you to understand the benefits of being self-sufficient. Also, find out the challenges of balancing self-sufficiency with prosperity in our connected world. Lastly, discover the different ways you can go forward in your lifestyle to be more self-sufficient.

The Importance of Being Self-Sufficient.

Having the ability to be self-sufficient enables us, our community, our country to have a degree of independence and freedom of choice. In a crisis situation like a natural disaster or war, self-sufficiency assures we meet our basic needs such as food, water, and shelter. Also, self-sufficiency is important to us emotionally to increase our self-esteem. Further, it is important for us intellectually to enable our own free expression and creativity. So it seems that to be more self-sufficient or not is an easy choice.

To Be More Self-Sufficient Or Not In A Modern Society.

In the past, individuals, families, communities, and nations had to be highly self-sufficient just to survive. Now, in the modern world we have all benefited from being dependent on the labor and productivity of others. Though we have become less self-sufficient relying on others, we have become very prosperous. On the other hand, more of us are holding the view that our consumer-oriented society is threatening our environment. Worst, our way of life threatens the survival of our planet. To conclude, these modern issues raise new questions about the merits and to the degree we should be self-sufficient or not.

• The Effects of Individuals and Families Being More Self-Sufficient. Is it best for the sake of self-sufficiency to consume less and deny ourselves modern conveniences such as cell phones and the internet? During the American depression, the motto was “Use it up, wear it out, make do or do without.”  Are we willing to become a “jack of all trades”?  If people “…choose to live entirely by their own hand do so at the high cost of poverty and misery to themselves.” See FEE.org’s The Myth of Self-Reliance on the challenges of economic self-reliance.
• The Merits of Communities and Nations Being More Self-Sufficient. At the community and national level there are more opportunities to be self-sufficient and not have to live in poverty. This is because within a community or larger society, people can specialize in what they do best. To explain, there is a division of labor where each person can add value, make money, and everyone benefits from the productivity of others. Additionally, through working together and innovation there are more opportunities to protect the environment and use our resources effectively. 

How To Go Forward With Being Self-Sufficient?

The first question a person needs to ask is why do I want to be self-sufficient. For example, your goal could be to help protect the environment, limit consumption, prepare for uncertain times, raise self-esteem or just to have a more healthy lifestyle. Indeed, our goals will determine how we should move forward with being more self-sufficient. Below are ideas on achieving self-sufficiency depending on our ultimate goal.

•  Be The Self-Sufficient Survivalist. Some of us can be motivated by necessity or survival instinct to be self-sufficient to just meet basic necessities. Many of us live in prosperous countries and our basic needs are assured, but you never know. Throughout history events such as wars, civil unrest, and depressions have plunged prosperous people into crises. In these uncertain situations, we can lack such things as food, water, and shelter.  On these occasions, we would need to focus on emergency preparedness and survival skills for our self-sufficiency.  In these instances, we buy generators, stock a survival pantry,  and practice Do-It-Yourself (DIY) skills. See SelfsufficientProject.com for more ideas on how to survive a crisis.

• Achieve A Healthy / Budget-Friendly Self-Sufficiency. Some of us just have a goal of self-confidence, a healthier lifestyle, greater independence, or a slimmer budget. There are many things you can do for a healthier and budget-friendly lifestyle. This can include planting a garden, learning how to can food, learning to bake or sew, Do-It-Yourself (DIY) home improvements, start a home business or commute to work by bike. See Bob Villa’s 20 Ways Homeowners Can Be More Self-Sufficient.

• Achieve A Sustainable Self-Sufficiency. More and more of us are concerned with sustaining the environment through recycling, renewable energy, and consuming less. To put this into action can range from simple lifestyle changes to becoming a homesteader, joining a self-sufficient community, or even living off the grid. Type of things you can do to be more sustainable and self-sufficient can include the use of reusable cloth instead of wipes, air dry clothes, turn your lawn into an edible garden, or ditch the cable, See 18 Easy Ways to Become Self-Sufficient and 41 Ways to Become more Self-Sufficient for more ideas for having a more sustainable lifestyle. For more details on being a homesteader or living off the grid, see MorningChores.com, LoveProperty.com’s Survivalists Reveal Genius Tips for Self-Sufficient Living, and Mother Earth News.

For more information from Unvarnished Facts, see more postings on sustainability.