3 Steps to Independence as You Age
Independence is something that happens with age. In fact, one of the very first times that you start heading on this path is when you move out of your parent’s home. This kick-starts everything else into motion. You will learn how to properly cook for yourself, clean, manage your finances and so on. This independence is something that will last for your entire life. When you are older, you will look back at your younger years, and be proud of the steps that you took to reach your independence, as you went through a learning curve. Here are 3 steps that you must take to reach this stage.
- Moving out
As soon as you move out of your parents’ home and rent your first apartment, you are an independent adult. Simply the act of looking for a new home, and the fact that you are solely responsible for your monthly bills and its maintenance and repairs, makes you more responsible. Even when you move out for your College years, you may be living in a student dorm, but you are beginning to be solely accountable for the choices that you make throughout your day to day.
- Learning the basics
When you start becoming more responsible for your own life, you will need to learn a few basics. These include:
- Cooking
Everyone needs to learn how to cook at one point or another. Food is necessary for maintaining your energy, and only the nutritious and well-balanced options will maintain your health. Whether you learned from family, friends, or watched videos online, it’s something that you will learn how to do at one point or another.
- Cleaning
Cleaning your home space and looking after yourself is another sign of independence. You will need to get into a habit of de-cluttering on a daily and weekly basis, or else live in an uncomfortable and messy space. You will soon realize that isn’t conducive to creativity or making you feel at ‘home.’
- Finances
As soon as you get your first job, and you can pay all of your monthly bills, you will also need to learn how to be more financially responsible. This requires you to learn how to save money and budget according to how much you make.
- When you get older
Although you are independent, that does not mean that you cannot rely on friends and family members. The older you get, and especially when you reach the age of retirement, you may need to more help doing certain tasks, especially as you are more susceptible to injuries and health risks during this time.
You will need people that can help and support you. What if you were to fall inside your home and there was no one there to help you, for instance? This is hardly a situation that you want to face, and in this case, you can adopt a monitoring medical alert system where you can call for help with the push of a button. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.
You only become fully independent when you grow older. It comes with time, of course, but it’s also a result of the choices that you make. The exact age at which it happens is something that will differ between people, but overall, everyone will reach it at one point or another. Once it does, you will learn how to become a full-fledged and responsible adult, so don’t worry if you haven’t been able to master cooking, or if you don’t know how to juggle your finances properly. Independence, and the responsibility that comes alongside it, is properly mastered with time.