Human beings are conditioned to socialize constantly. As naturally social creatures, we find comfort, love, safety, and satisfaction as we interact with others. Socializing is necessary for our well-being but can become a problem when we’re too attached to being with others and find it difficult to simply be alone with ourselves. As a result, we may be subconsciously creating negative stipulation toward solitude.
But, you may even enjoy being alone every once in awhile. If that’s the case, then how can you use these precious moments to feed your growth and inner exploration into the self?
Here are a few things to try to enjoy your moments of solitude:
1. The most important step is to not react to the impulse to reach out to someone to fill your time and space. This is key!
2. Mix your alone time with productivity, relaxation, and meditation or self-reflection. Something to try is journaling what’s on your mind. Oftentimes our heads are full of so much information that are hard to process and can get in our way. It’s great practice to get your thoughts out onto paper by just writing without thinking what or how to write. Let your brain just write what it wants, and you’ll be surprised at how much it will shed light onto what’s going on inside your mind. You’ll definitely awaken to new things about yourself.
3. Envision your future and set goals for the day, week, month, year or even five years from now. Ask yourself what is it that you want most right now? Where do you want to be in your career? Personal relationships? Are you feeling fulfilled? What can achieve fulfillment for you personally?
4. Go out into nature, where you’ll have some of your deepest and most pure thoughts.
5. Build awareness of what’s in your environment that is helpful or destructive to your growth and well-being. (You can read more about this topic in our previous guide,
How to Master Your Environment for New Happiness.)
6. Make an effort for one personal improvement each day you’re alone. Try an exercise like yoga to connect to your body more deeply. You might even want to take one step into overcoming a bad habit you might have. Or, simply rearranging or cleaning your physical space can bring lots of joy and new energy into your life.
7. Find your means of creation. Creating can mean different things to everyone. Not all of us are artists, so maybe creating means giving to others or taking time to experience an unknown culture. It can even be instilling a sense of newness into something you’ve done for years. Whatever it is, just make sure it satisfies your spirit on a deep level.
The more time you spend with yourself and fill it with intentional productivity, self-care and love, solitude will change from a generally lonely feeling into to a positive time of growth in your life. Rather than avoiding it and fearing it, you can learn to seek it out and cherish those precious moments greatly. It will fill you with a new wholeness, and it’s the start of finding your true self.
What are some of the things you do to enjoy solitude? Let’s discuss in the comments!