Maybe you’re a bit like me in that you’re pretty independent when it comes to doing your job.

After all, you and I have spent years becoming proficient, knowledgeable and responsible in order to be able to do what we do.

There’s a certain satisfaction, a sense of pride, when you can do things without relying on others. 

As children, we were taught to be self-reliant – strong and capable.  And it’s still going strong. Google “children and self–reliance” and you’ll see there are reams of information on how to create an independent child.

Then there are the quotes we often hear that re-enforce the necessity of being self-reliant.

“If you want a thing done well, do it yourself.” Napoleon Bonaparte

You usually hear this when someone is complaining about a task they entrusted to someone else that didn’t go so well.

“Survival of the fittest” – This is a phrase that originated from Darwinian evolutionary theory, inviting us to make ourselves the brightest and the best in order to succeed.

“No one can really pull you up very high - you lose your grip on the rope. But on your own two feet, you can climb mountains. “    Louis Brandeis

You get the idea.

But there’s a downside to all this. 

Sometimes we can be too independent, so much so that it costs us.