Self Reliance & Self Sufficiency – What’s The Difference?
What’s the difference between self reliance and self sufficiency?
That’s a good question! People tend to use these terms interchangeably.
However if you dig into it a bit, there is a difference in their meaning.
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Self Reliance
Someone on the blog (Dennis) once defined it as this…
“I believe that many in the prepper community are like myself, that is, someone who has always been “self reliant”. My simple definition of being self reliant is someone whose first thought when a problem arises is to take care of it yourself, not to call in an “expert” or professional. Following this philosophy leads to acquiring skills in many fields. Not necessarily becoming as skilled and knowledgeable as someone who does these things for a living, but good enough to take care of things as they arise.”
Self reliance is relying on one’s self. One’s own powers. It aspires towards non-dependence. It’s a quality. A personality characteristic. It’s about “you”.
Note that what one makes, obtains, or gets, may be more (or less) than what is “sufficient”.
Self Sufficiency
“Self sufficiency is a natural progression of self reliance. Growing or fabricating life sustaining necessities, or eliminating the supply chain we have become dependent on. That is infinitely tougher than being self reliant. Thus the attraction to sites like MSB, where folks can share their trials, errors, and successes as they travel that road to self sufficiency.”
Being self sufficient is either obtaining, having, or producing the resources one needs.
Self sufficiency (sufficient). Sufficient quantities of what one needs.
Self Reliant vs Self Sufficient
Given the variance or distinction between the two definitions above, you might say the following:
Both self reliance and self sufficiency are about you.
“I can be both self reliant and self sufficient, to varying degrees.”
Self reliance involves the conviction, dedication, fortitude, and skills in order to reach or aspire towards a goal (or result) of self sufficiency. Or the extent thereof.
