I’ve always been a bit of a loner. As a kid I could enjoy myself for hours with things like drawing, reading and painting. I never really needed a lot of people around me. When I grew up I still valued my alone time. When I come back home after a work day or after spending time with people I crave some alone time. For me this is a moment to unwind, relax and clear my mind after a day full of impressions. A few months ago I go I catched myself being with people all the time. I planned things on all my free moments. There ware some things going on in my personal life. I was literally escaping from being alone with my thoughts and feelings. After some time I noticed this behaviour and I took a step back. I really felt exhausted. I just need my alone time to process things. So instead of going out every night and every weekend I decided to take some evenings and weekends off and I really took the time to think and reflect. I instantly felt better and happier. I see a lot of people around me escaping from their feelings by constantly being around people. And even if you’re a ”people person” or not, I think everyone need to spend time alone. Here are 6 reasons why you should spend time alone:
1. Time to recharge
We all try to make the people around us happy and help them with their feelings and emotions. For example: your friend tells calls you about their problems and issues. Or you try to satisfy your co-workers with delivering perfect work. All those things can be emotionally draining! Spending time alone helps you to take a break from interaction with other people and in this way you can recharge.
2. The perfect moment to think and reflect
Life happens fast and we often don’t take the time to stop and reflect. When you’re spending time alone you have a great opportunity to focus on yourself. You can figure out whether you’re going in the right direction with your life or not. Write down all the things that are happing in your life and reflect on it.
3. A chance to understand what makes YOU happy
When you’re hanging out with other people, you often make compromises. For example: you’re hanging out with a friend, and your friend wants to go to the beach and you want to go to a museum. You had to compromise, so you decided to go to the beach even though you really wanted to go to a museum. When you’re spending time alone, you decide what you want to do. In this way you figure out what really makes you happy.
4. Helps you learn about yourself
When you’re making a habit of spending time alone, you get more comfortable in your own skin. This gives you insight into who you are as a person. The things you value, the things you like, the things you don’t like, the way certain events make you feel, etc. When you know yourself, you can also make better choices because you’re less inclined to be influenced by others.
5. Sparks your creativity
Spending time alone gives you the opportunity to let your thoughts wander. This can help you to become more creative! Especially when you’re working in the creative field, spending time alone can be really beneficial for your work. Lock yourself up in an empty room or place and let your creativity flow.
6. Teaches you to value your relationships
Big change that you will appreciate your relationships even more after you’ve spent some time alone. When you’re spending time with yourself you gain a better understanding of who you are and what you desire in life. This also includes the people around you! When you have an insight in what kind of people you want in your life, you can make better choices about who you want to be around.
Of course you should spend time with your friends and family. That’s what gives us joy in life! But don’t forget to take some time off during the week, even if it’s just one evening or one day that you spend with yourself.
How often do you spend time alone?
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