The important of independence

1. Definition.
What is independence?
- Independence is doing things on your own without relying on or asking for help from
others.
2. Benefits of independence
" If you don't program yourself, life will program you!"
-

Les Brown -

The above statement affirms the importance of

independence. So why is independence so important? It affects the personality
and lifestyle of each child, it determines the success in their life and career... and
other things in life.
Some specific benefits of being independent:
-

It boosts your self-confidence and self-esteem: an increase in self-

confidence means that you trust yourself to be competent in the situations you
confront, and a boost in self-esteem gives a positive outlook on yourself.
Learning independence instills confidence because you believe in the knowledge
and capacities you possess to deal with any challenge.
-

It decreases the burden you place on family, friends, and society: if you

are capable of meeting your own needs with the help of technology, you don’t
have to depend on others for help. Instead of being a burden, you lighten the load
of others.

-

Turns you into an asset to help other people: it is not bad to need help.

Everyone needs it at some point. But, with independence comes the ability to
care for yourself and help other people with the knowledge and abilities you
have. People learn to trust you as a beneficial resource and look to you for
assistance.
-

Enhances your reputation among friends and colleagues: When you prove

that you are independent, other people view you positively as a contributor to
society rather than a dependent. Today, reputation determines how far you can
go in life. Independence creates a powerful reputation.

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Leads to financial freedom because you are skilled and capable: you can

work and earn wages that allow you to provide for yourself and prepare for the
future. Financial uncertainty is frightening, but independence is empowering.
-

Gives you social independence and dexterity: the world we live in is social

both in face-to-face situations and online in social media engagements.

Sociability is essential to being human, and being independent provides you with
the ability to maneuver in society and mingle with people. This enables
friendships, networking, and collaboration.
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Makes you physically capable of caring for yourself and others: despite

disabilities, the more physically able you make yourself, the better you can deal
with situations in your environment.
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It fills you with a sense of joy and happiness that can come from no other

source.: happiness comes from independence, self-esteem, the ability to
associate with and help others, and physical activity.
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It places you in a position to be an innovator with independent thought:

regardless of your occupation or workplace, innovation is a valuable commodity,
and independent creativity makes you a powerful asset to your employer or your
own business.
-

It makes you mobile rather than confined within your community: this

means that you can freely act, move, and operate as you see fit. You are not
bound to your current circumstances but can alter your future for the better.
-

It sets you up for further progress and self-sufficiency: because you can

rely on yourself, you can keep up with technology, and, with that resource, you
can accomplish anything you want and you possess the means for infinite
progression. Rather than falling behind with every new step technology takes,
you can stay ahead of the changes and adapt as needed.

3.How become independent?
Becoming independent is not something that can be done in a short time, it is a
very long process and requires the right measures. So where do we have to practice
and what skills do we need?
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- For yourself, some useful skills need to be equipped to become independent such as:
+ Reliable: that can be trusted to do something well; that you can rely on
+ Self-reliant: capable of doing or deciding things by yourself, rather than depending
on other people for help

+ Decisive: able to make decisions quickly.
+ Determined: strongly motivated to do something and not allowing anyone or any
difficulties to stop you.
+ Well-informed: having a lot of knowledge about current topics or a particular
subject.
+ Confident: feeling certain about your own ability to do things and be successful.
+ In addition, you need to learn how to take care of yourself and equip yourself with
behavioral skills, communication skills, adaptation skills, survival skills, etc.
- For parents, for their children to become more mature, parents can do a few things:
+ Teach children essential skills from an early age.
+ Only give advice and let the child decide for himself.

+ Praise children when they do well, correct them when they do wrong.
+ Do not overprotect children.
+ Create conditions for children to show their talents.
+ Teach children to do housework, how to communicate, how to behave politely and
properly.
4. Current status.
- Today, many countries have a high percentage of children and teenagers living
independently such as Japan, the US ... Children are trained to think and live
independently from an early age through small actions.
Example: In Japan, children under the age of 3 ride the bus to kindergarten on their own.
By the age of 5, 6, children can voluntarily wake up early and do personal hygiene in
the morning, then cook their own breakfast and go to school by public transport (bus,
subway...) or walk to school without parents.
In particular, in Japan, children are educated on how to cross the street very
politely. When preparing to cross the street, children will stand at the pedestrian
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crossing and raise their right hand to signal traffic on the road. After crossing the road,
children will stand on the side of the road politely bowing to thank the driver for giving
way. This is very common in Japan, but in other countries, it is a surprise.
- Besides, many parts of the world have not yet thrown away the unmodern way of
thinking and make children become overly dependent.
Example: In Vietnam, children are very dependent on their parents, even when they are
adults. When going to school, children need their mother to wake them up, prepare their
uniforms and breakfast, and then let their father take them to school. When at home, the
mother has to cook, clean the house, wash the clothes, clean the room for the children
while the parents are very busy. Children are completely dependent on their parents,
not actively doing anything including their own, just letting their parents remind them
what to do.

5. Expanded: distinguishing independence and isolation:
-

Isolation: is a psychological state of people, they do everything on their own, are

always alone, isolate themselves, are isolated in social relationships and lack contact
with others.
-

Independence is that you do everything on your own without relying on or asking

for help, accomplishing everything by yourself but still being sociable, having good
relationships with people around you.
=> Being independent is not isolating yourself. Living in isolation is a limitation, but
being independent is a strength, it brings a lot of benefits in life

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