Independence is not a simple thing to describe it is seen by different people as different things depending upon their personal circumstances. The dictionary defines independent as:
1. - not influenced or controlled by others in matters of opinion, conduct, etc.; thinking or acting for oneself.
2. - not dependent; not depending or contingent upon something else for existence, operation, etc.
3. - not relying on another or others for aid or support.
There are other terms that we associate with being independent including:
Free - able to act at will; not hampered; not under compulsion or restraint
Self-sufficient; self-sufficing; self-sustaining - able to provide for your own needs without help from others
Self-supporting - financially independent
Autonomous; self-directed; self-reliant - (of persons) free from external control and constraint in e.g. action and judgment
As adults to be independent mostly seems to mean not needing help or assistance from anyone or anything, being able to survive and stand on one's own and being able to think and make decisions for yourself.
Self-sufficient; self-sufficing; self-sustaining - able to provide for your own needs without help from others
Self-supporting - financially independent
Autonomous; self-directed; self-reliant - (of persons) free from external control and constraint in e.g. action and judgment
As adults to be independent mostly seems to mean not needing help or assistance from anyone or anything, being able to survive and stand on one's own and being able to think and make decisions for yourself.
Independence can be broken down into three different aspects: Mental independence, Behavioural independence and Survival-based independence:
Mental independence
Mental independence is being able to think for yourself regardless of what others think and say. It involves accessing your internal resources, listening to your inner voice, weighing up all the facts and feelings about an issue, as honestly as possible, and forming opinions based on this. It is not just following the social norms or rebelling and choosing the opposite opinions as these are controlled by others and external influences. Mental independence is the basis of independent thinking, independent decision-making, and leads to independent actions and behaviour.
Behavioural independence
This is based on mental independence, because it’s only after you can think independently, that you can make independent choices in life. These can range from very simple day to day things such as what to wear, what to eat etc., to life changing choices such as what to do for a living, whether to have children, where to live etc. In other words, mental independence enables you to act independently. Behavioural independence also involves acting in way that’s not controlled or overly influenced by others.
Mental independence is being able to think for yourself regardless of what others think and say. It involves accessing your internal resources, listening to your inner voice, weighing up all the facts and feelings about an issue, as honestly as possible, and forming opinions based on this. It is not just following the social norms or rebelling and choosing the opposite opinions as these are controlled by others and external influences. Mental independence is the basis of independent thinking, independent decision-making, and leads to independent actions and behaviour.
Behavioural independence
This is based on mental independence, because it’s only after you can think independently, that you can make independent choices in life. These can range from very simple day to day things such as what to wear, what to eat etc., to life changing choices such as what to do for a living, whether to have children, where to live etc. In other words, mental independence enables you to act independently. Behavioural independence also involves acting in way that’s not controlled or overly influenced by others.
Survival-based independence
The whole point of independence is having the knowledge and the tools to be able to survive successfully in the world. This involves:
The whole point of independence is having the knowledge and the tools to be able to survive successfully in the world. This involves:
§ Financial independence: This entails earning money yourself to allow you to buy food, clothes and pay for shelter
§ - Safety-related Independence: This involves knowing how to maintain your safety, how to avoid dangerous situations and how to handle them if they do occur.
§ - Self-care-related Independence: This entails knowing how to look after yourself to maintain your good health and fitness, and taking care of all your needs, including social ones.
§ - Safety-related Independence: This involves knowing how to maintain your safety, how to avoid dangerous situations and how to handle them if they do occur.
§ - Self-care-related Independence: This entails knowing how to look after yourself to maintain your good health and fitness, and taking care of all your needs, including social ones.
Independence is an important ingredient for developing positive self-esteem and therefore is an important ingredient for your happiness. Feeling that you know what you’re doing and where you are going in life, that you’re in control, that you know how to take care of yourself and how to survive and how to think for yourself is very empowering. It boosts self-belief and self-respect.
These ideas of independence however have to be flexible; confidence and previous abilities may be lost when people get older or people may have accidents or disabilities that cause the loss of some forms independence. Some people are inhibited from 100% independent living due to physical or mental restrictions which mean they require someone to assist them. In these cases, independence may have to take on different definitions to accommodate a person’s condition. It may still be possible for people to be independent by maintaining their mental independence to allow them to decide upon behavioural decisions, even if the behavioural decisions can only be achieved with some assistance. This is highly important as becoming dependent and feeling needy can reduce self-belief as well as potentially leading to feeling angry and resentful about losing independence.
People however aren’t islands and everyone generally lives with some level of interdependence on others whether that comes from parents, carers, partners or businesses. This interdependence is needed even for the most independent people. Independence is all in your point of view, and dependence (or interdependence) isn't always a bad thing as long as people are free to make that choice.
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