Surname 1

Name

Course

Instructor

Date

Self Reflection the Sentiments by Self-Reliance by Ralph Emerson

Self-Reliance, authored by Ralph Emerson, is one of the interesting pieces of literature

that evoke sentiments on how one can lead a fulfilling and even happy life. Concisely, the author

advocates people to nurture self-reliance if they are to live a meaningful and purposively life.

Accordingly, people should desist from pursuing blindly the paths of others. Instead, they should

always trust and follow their instincts and make personal choices. Self-reliance is the source of

optimism and hope and pillar of productive, efficient, and self-sustaining society, while imitation

is death of an individual. In asserting his message, Ralph Emerson uses pathos, logo and ethos,

which he underscores using sentimental quotes. One of his notable quotes is, “What must I do, is

all that concerns me, not what the people think” (Emmerson 5). Reflecting upon this quote and

relating to the personal life, I argue that it is a self-validating slogan and a recipe to a happy and

fulfilling life that will cushion one stress caused by societal pressure and foster creativity for

solving various personal problems.

Understanding the Context of the Quote

The quote is presented as an emphasis on the need for individuals to shun from counting

on approval from the society in their pursuit of personal life goals. Essentially, the author can be

inferred to be acknowledging that a society can have adverse effects on individual growth. The
 Surname 2

only countermeasure to this adverse effect is self-sufficiency, which accords an individual the

freedom to discover the self and work towards attaining independence (Emmerson 3).

Accordingly, the author can be seen to urge the followers to nurture a habit of following

individual and desist from conforming to social expectations. People should also follow their

own voices instead of clinging to those of the intermediaries such as the church. Moreover, every

person should also be honest with their relationships, develop own culture, and be concerned

about personal progress instead of social progress. The end goal of self-reliance is, in this case, a

productive, efficient, and self-sustaining society. Thus, one of the fascinating questions to ask

regarding Emerson’s Self-Reliance essay is whether his quote is valid.

How I Agree with the Quote

A reflection on the quote in relation to personal experiences qualifies it as a valid one. To

begin with, the effect of evaluating and pursuing individual goals in the lenses of the society is

costly and robs people of self-consciousness, causing them suffering that is otherwise

preventable. The suffering is largely a psychological problem characterized by fears, worries and

emotions resulting from the inability to fulfill societal expectations. Therefore, if people can

learn to understand and acknowledge that suffering is caused by impermanent problems resulting

from inability to fulfill societal expectations that can be ignored, then they will be able to live a

happy and fulfilling life. However, this begins with nurturing self-reliance and differentiating

what matters to an individual and believing in oneself.

Indeed, I have once been a victim of lack of self-reliance, something that caused me to

make blunders. For instance, I used to think that the only source of happiness is wealth. I would

go by the society, cherishing capitalist ideals such as loving money, big cars, houses and

diamonds. I also used to think that there were certain social standards that people should observe.
 Surname 3

I would struggle to conform to the standards and ideals of society and stress myself. However, I

came to realize that such views were merely socially constructed and were limiting me and

making me a fool. There more I realized that life is how an individual makes it, the more I

realize that most of the things that the society has created are vanity. I find that nurturing self-

reliance has several benefits.

In one way, it is a source of creativity and a solution to many personal problems. The

principle of the self-reliance teaches people to strive towards making the informed rational

choices. These rational choices are expected to optimize happiness and lead to pleasurable

outcomes. Self-reliance gives ways to right mindfulness encourages individuals to strive

towards reconciling their feelings with their soul, including nurturing positive feelings and

image, while shunning distress and greed with the reference to the ways of the world. Such

mindfulness encourages one to be conscious of the self and undertake the course of actions that

lead to happiness without waiting for approval of the society.

It then also follows that self-reliance is a source is a source of right view. One will see

that the right views encourage individuals to nurture a positive perspective on life and

circumstances. For instance, it discourages one from being pessimistic just because other people

are. Moreover, it gives accords the people the liberty to approach world issues with creativity

and flexibility, attesting to the fact that the solution to common world problems can be resolved

at an individual level. Therefore, one can consider it as a recipe for the right course of thinking

and acting, too. This right view is expected to make one to lead a fulfilling life because it

minimizes the problems associated with the wrong perception that the society creates. After all,

every person is unique, meaning that the needs and abilities of every individual should not be

generalized or even be subjected to the same societal judgment (Livni).

 Surname 4

Indeed, society has been able to progress because some individuals came up with original

ideas. To do so, they had to move away from imitating and following what common views and

thinking of the society. The author acknowledges the paths followed by philosophers such as

Plato and eminent artists. In the same way, self-reliance is expected to break the York of mental

slavery and give people the liberty to be creative in resolving problems. Thus, I have come to

establish these self-reliance teachings to relate to positive psychology, which essentially

subscribes to the ideology that living a happy and fulfilling life is essentially a personal choice

and that happiness can only be sought within once soul. In this regard, I would recommend that

positive psychology should borrow self-reliance teachings to enhance the viability of its practices

from an interdisciplinary practice perspective. By using this principle, psychology is best placed

to help people manage problems such as stress that people fall into because of worrying about

unfulfilled social expectations that are otherwise transient in nature and do not mean much for

life.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Emerson’s quote is a self-validating slogan and a recipe for a happy and

fulfilling life that will cushion one stress resulting societal pressure and encourage creativity and

originality in solving personal problems. The quote encourages people to desist from pursuing

blindly the paths of others. Instead, they should always trust and follow their instincts and make

personal choices. Self-reliance is the source of optimism and hope and pillar of productive,

efficient, and self-sustaining society, while imitation is the death of an individual. Indeed, lack of

self-reliance robs people of creativity and makes people mental slaves who cannot respond to

personal problems. Indeed, since every person is unique, the only way to realize individual

potential is to pursue the path of self-reliance.

 Surname 5

Works Cited

Emerson, Ralph. Self-Reliance. 1841. Web. 6th December,

2018.<https://math.dartmouth.edu/~doyle/docs/self/self.pdf>

Livni, Ephrat. Don’t be afraid to create: Ralph Waldo Emerson’s life-changing advice on trusting

your instincts. January 22, 2017. Web. 6th December, 2018. <

https://qz.com/890636/ralph-waldo-emersons-essay-on-self-reliance-has-an-important-

message-about-creativity>