Self-Reliance Group: Education
I just finished 12 weeks of self-reliance coursework, focused on getting education so that I can get a paying job. This has transformed me in some ways. I knew previously that I needed to become self-supporting financially. Since my husband passed away five months ago, I have been living on a combination of life insurance payout and friends’ generosity. I have enough for the moment, but no way yet to replace the funds I’m burning through. Hence the self-reliance course, offered by my church, but open to everyone who is willing to do the work it requires.
In this course on education, I learned that God wants me to succeed financially, and that His definition of success includes becoming debt-free over time, through hard work but also through working smart. I had previously learned the 80-20 rule, which says that 80 percent of your results come from 20 percent of your effort. Not all efforts lead to good results.
This self-reliance course requires recognizing that my success depends on my efforts. God helps those who are trying to help themselves. He doesn’t wait for success to help us, but he requires us to try. We have to reach and take His hand. Sometimes all He needs is for us to ask; other times we must step out and work towards our goals before we see His help.
We met as a small group, initially about 10 people, finally five plus a facilitator who made sure we had a location and time to meet. It was all work as a group, not lecture. We took turns reading from the manual and discussed what we read. We each made decisions based on what we each needed to learn.
I looked at what I like to do, what working conditions I prefer, what my interests and talents are. I researched some possible jobs that make use of what I already can do and some jobs that I could be trained to do. I picked three to research in more detail.
Each person in the group then researched available training opportunities, checking their success rates, costs, and requirements. The self-reliance course materials asked a lot of questions to find out more about each training option, things I had not thought to consider. One of my group’s members said he wished he had checked this more carefully previously, because he is now in debt for training that isn’t as useful as he expected it to be.
I decided on one job I would like to pursue, with training to pursue, and made a plan for how I would proceed. The self-reliance course materials then covered the importance of managing time wisely, prioritizing efforts, and being diligent. Having a plan in place is only the beginning. I must work the plan for it to help me.
I feel strongly that this has been the best thing I could do at this time. I learned a lot. I committed to attend 12 weekly meetings and succeeded in attending at least 10 of them. I grew to know and appreciate my fellow group members. We were expected to contact each other during the week between each meeting, to encourage and support each other. We were not very good at doing so, but when we did, we were blessed. I know them better and I think they know me better; we are friends. I was able to point out a couple of job opportunities to a fellow group member who was looking for jobs in a particular field.
In looking back at this self-reliance effort, I see that the very concept of self-reliance is counter to the culture around me. Many, many people are depending on the government or on corporations or on charities to make their decisions for them, to choose their housing, to arrange their transportation, to tell them how much to spend on food or to straight up give it to them. That is the road to slavery. God did not put us here to quiescently lie down. He did not set us here on earth to be entertained and cared for, like pets. As Robert Bolt said, “God ... made animals for innocence and plants for their simplicity. But Man He made to serve Him wittily, in the tangle of his mind.” (“A Man For All Seasons”, Act 2, page 78) God wants us to struggle and to work our way through. We are God’s children. We are here in training to become gods, like God our Father. He works at creating, building, making things, arranging things on the earth for our benefit. We are here to learn what He does, to build and to create.
In April another set of self-reliance groups will start up, on these topics: education, finances, getting a job, and starting a business. You are welcome to join one. It requires 12 weeks of meeting once a week with your group, doing the assignments for the topic you chose, and contacting a member of your group at least once a week for support and encouragement. They are set up by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and are open to anyone who is willing to come and do the work. There is no fee to join.
This has been tremendously helpful to me and I anticipate doing another group on another topic. I think you would benefit, too.