"A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines." -Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance Self-Reliance (1841) is an essay that articulates Emerson's belief in the importance of individualism and the need for each individual to rely on their own ideas and instincts. It offers an analysis of what the author describes as the "aboriginal self on which a universal reliance may be grounded" and maintains that everyone can achieve happiness by changing their mindset.