No, You’re Not Independent. And Here’s Why

Today we’re gonna talk independence, because frankly I hear stuff like this a lot.

“I’m 100% independent.”

“I don’t need anybody.”

“I rely on no one.”

It sounds powerful. Self-assured. Almost defiant.

But here’s the problem: independence is a word with a definition. And you don’t get to shrink that definition just so it fits a slogan you like.

Because I mean this quite literally when I say: you are 100% not independent.

That’s not an insult. It’s not an attack. And this post isn’t here to piss on anyone’s fire.

What it is, is a thought experiment — one designed to cultivate awareness of just how deeply dependent we are on other people, and how much gratitude we probably owe to the countless seen and unseen hands that make our lives possible.

By the end of this, I suspect you’ll realise two things:

1. You are profoundly dependent on others.

2. That’s not a weakness — it’s a privilege.⠀

Nobody is 100% independent

The whole idea of independence is a lie. A slogan. A falsified statement of defiance designed to instill within us a skewed sense of self.

Human beings are, by design, interdependent. We survive through community, cooperation, specialisation, and shared systems. Always have.

Let’s start simple.

Who built the house you live in?

Who generated the electricity powering it?

Who installed the plumbing?

Who maintains the roads, pipes, cables, and infrastructure that allow you to function day to day?

Who stocked the supermarkets?

Who farmed the food?

Who raised, slaughtered, processed, packaged, and transported it?

Who designed the supply chains that ensure your shelves aren’t empty?

Who paid your wages?

Who taught you to read and write?

Who built and maintains the platform you’re reading this on right now?

Doctors.

Schools.

Tradesmen.

Engineers.

Farmers.

Cleaners.

Drivers.

Developers.

Blue collar. White collar. Public sector. Private.

The list doesn’t end — it compounds.

Your survival, comfort, safety, communication, and opportunity are built on the labour, skills, and cooperation of millions of people you will never meet.

That isn’t independence.

That’s interdependence on an almost unimaginable scale.

What True Independence Would Look Like

Now, let’s contrast that with true independence.

Real independence would mean living off the land.

Hunting. Foraging. Building shelter.

Creating fire from scratch.

Making tools. Preserving food.

Treating your own injuries.

Protecting yourself.

Surviving illness without medicine, infrastructure, or outside help.

Is it possible? Yes.

Is it realistic for most people today? No.

And it comes with enormous sacrifice — including the loss of many of the systems we benefit from daily.

Which brings us back to the core issue.

You don’t get to redefine a word just because it suits a narrow worldview or sounds good in a bio.

Claiming “total independence” while relying on society at every level isn’t strength — it’s ignorance of the systems keeping you alive.

And the irony is this:

You would discover very quickly how “independent” you are when:

• the shops are empty
• your job disappears
• there’s no police to answer the phone
• your roof collapses
• your plumbing explodes
• the power goes out
• or the systems you take for granted simply stop working

Suddenly, that lone-wolf fantasy doesn’t look so sturdy.

There’s no shame in dependence.

In fact, it’s something to be grateful for.

We live in a world where we get to depend on each other in extraordinarily beneficial ways — ways that allow us to focus, specialise, create, and build lives far beyond mere survival.

Real strength isn’t pretending you need no one.

It’s recognising that you stand on the shoulders of many — and choosing gratitude over illusion.

Because independence isn’t about denying dependence.

It’s about understanding it.

If this piece made you pause, reconsider, or see your own life a little differently, feel free to give it a like.

Share it with someone who still thinks they stand alone, or subscribe if you’d like to read more reflections like this — honest thoughts on modern life, responsibility, and what we quietly owe to one another.

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