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Week 12: Reflect on your own personal development in regards to self-reliance.

This week we learned about being self-reliant and how we can help others learn to be self-reliant. I really liked how Mohammed Yunus likened the poor to a bonsai tree and illustrated that everyone is capable to grow to great things. I think that we often forget how much circumstances influence our ability to grow to our full potential. As I think upon this, I reflect on how this is something that I hope my children will understand about people. Just because someone comes from a place that may seem unfavorable doesn’t mean they are unfavorable. I feel this also goes along with respect. Respecting others and their experiences that have led them to where they are and where they are going.
Self-reliance isn’t something that only the poor need to learn about. Many a wealthy person has mismanaged resources and found themselves without. Being self-reliant helps us to prepare for these mishaps and to gain the self-confidence that we can pick ourselves up again. It is this knowledge of ourselves that I feel is most important. Many who become homeless or poor feel they are incapable of getting themselves out of their situations. This is not true, but they believe it so. If we can help people see their potential and support them a bit while they try, we will be doing the Lord’s work. Now, I don’t mean to suggest that there are not roadblocks, there most definitely are, however only that their belief in themselves is so damaged by trying to get past the roadblocks that they stop believing in themselves as being capable. Perseverance and tenacity are traits that we must help others to develop in themselves so that our assistance to them to get over the roadblocks doesn’t just feel like a handout. They can take ownership and pride in their contributed efforts and grateful that others were there to help them succeed.
Week 12 Prompt: Reflect on your own personal development in regards to self-reliance.

My path of self-reliance had been one of physical, mental and spiritual effort. I started off as a young mom who didn’t really know how to budget, prepare meals or plan for the future. Now I am a mother of six who spends most of her time learning and relearning to do these things. We have one child out of the house and another getting there, with four more to go. These things all change as time passes. I am grateful for the church teaching me at each stage how I can best become self-reliant and I do look forward to making more changes in our lives so that we can become better at this. 

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