Being independent can mean different things to different people, but for the most part it’s empowering and confidence boosting to know that you can simply stand on your own two feet. There’re a lot of men out there who like to think they’re independent but also rely on others to help them with a lot of this stuff.
Make sure you know some basic life skills, and you can truly hold your head up say “I can take care of myself”. Gain true independence with these helpful tools.
Money Management
I know, zzzzzzzzz right? But hear me out for just a paragraph or two. Before you pop off shopping.
Let us assume that you are working, you are skilled up and earning your potential right now. Doing well. None of that means a flying fig if you don’t know how to manage your money right.
Learn how to budget, live within your means, invest wisely and save. Boring? Possibly. But if you can manage your money well you’ll overcome one of the most common factors of life that most of us perceive we need, and ask for help with. Control your money. Don’t let it, or lack of it, control you.
Look After Yourself
Only visit the docs when someone prods you? Always buying take-out because you can’t cook? Use the Laundromat because they do the laundry better? Have someone help you clean? And young guys can be particularly bad at this but we’re all a bit guilty at times.
Missing Mum much?!
Every living and able person on this planet owes it to themselves and those around them to be capable of handling all their own shit. We should all be able to fly the nest as a young adult into one of our own, and NOT need someone else to help us keep it or to help us look after our health and diet.
Think someone who can’t take care of themselves is attractive? Er, think again.
Learn how to cook, how to clean, how to work the washing machine. And learn well! These aren’t hard things to master and we should all know how.
Be a Handy Gal (or Guy)
Another very common thing we ask for help with in our busy lives (and end up paying through the nose for) is maintaining and fixing our stuff.
And it can slow a girl down, when something breaks as you’re using it. You’re forced to stop, just because you don’t know what to do next without calling for help. Only knowledge, which is freely available in books, online and from your Dad probably, stops you from being able to maintain your car and fix or repair most things in your home. Find out how and never be stopped by a blown fuse, plumbing leak, PC in need of a Reboot or flat tyre again.
Think Survival
You may think your biggest daily adventure is the commute to work, but life throws us in all sorts of directions at times and the key to independence and survival often is knowing what to do in times of adversity. And besides, if your days biggest adventure is the commute to work – don’t you just yearn to shake things up a bit and take a road trip across Outer Mongolia or something?! If you do, you’ll definitely need to be able to adapt.
But no matter how routine your adventures, it doesn’t hurt to know some basics. Make sure you know how to chop wood and light a fire. Know distress signals and emergency numbers. Depending on where you live, even things like knowledge of poisonous plants and deadly critters can be handy at times.
Learn some First Aid too! Don’t laugh, I’m not suggesting you train to be a Paramedic. Although you can, of course, if you feel inclined. But know how to dress a wound, stem the flow of blood, resuscitate, what to do if you’re first on the scene of an accident.
Not only will it help you look after yourself, if life ever puts you or a fellow human in peril, your knowledge could help or even save another.
And if, after stabilizing all the injured, you can build a camp and cook Squirrel with Wild Mushrooms on the fire whilst you wait for the air ambulance – how cool would THAT be?!
