The Importance of Being Alone

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Being alone and being lonely are too very different things. However, people often equate them to be practically the same. But this is a big mistake. You can be alone at times and still live a life brimming over with friends, family, and experiences. Taking time to be by yourself can actually aid in creating this type of life. People need their space. Here are three more reasons why being alone helps you build a healthier and happier life:

1. Restoration. As Marilyn Monroe once said, “I restore myself when I’m alone.” If you are constantly surrounding yourself with people, work, and things, it can become overwhelming. Sometimes we just need time to be by ourselves, reflecting on our own life and feelings. We need to refresh our body and mind without anyone asking for our attention or energy.

2. Independence. In the words of Oscar Wilde, “I think it’s very healthy to spend time alone. You need to know how to be alone and not defined by another person.” If you are constantly surrounding yourself with friends, you may have trouble really figuring out who you are independent of your social circle. When you take time to be by yourself, your goals, standards, and opinions become much clearer.

3. True happiness. There’s a saying, to be truly happy you need to be able to be perfectly happy on your own. If you discover yourself constantly feeling lonely or depressed when you are by yourself, there are deeper issues there. You are using a busy schedule or social distractions to keep you from confronting a void or problem in your life. Maybe you aren’t following your true passions or you have insecurities you need to address. Whatever it may be, sooner or later you gotta face the music. If you are alone and happy, then you are happy with who you are and the life you have created. You are able to reflect and realize the goodness in your life rather than viewing the silence as loneliness.

So next time you find yourself stuck in a bad time or overly stressed for no apparent reason, think about the last time you set aside time for just yourself. That may be the problem. Use alone time for whatever you need- beauty maintenance, reading, watching tv, or writing. Just don’t use it to bring yourself down and think no one wants to hang out with you. That’s just not true.

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