Loving Solitude: Why Quality Time Alone Is Essential to Your Well-Being

In a world where our lives are constantly revolving around busy work schedules and responsibilities, it can be quite a challenge to find some quality time alone. 

We’re constantly surrounded by people in our daily lives, like our families, relatives, friends, and workmates. That’s okay, because as humans we evolved as social beings, and connecting with other people remains an essential need within each of us. But there are times when the noise of the outside world ends up cluttering our minds. Even for extroverts, prolonged interaction with others can zap our energies after a while, making us feel exhausted and drained.

These are the perfect moments to recenter -- to retreat to your own personal space, take a deep, long breath to relax, and evaluate things from a renewed perspective. There is a sense of comfort in spending some alone time with yourself; a state of ease which allows you to free your mind from all external distractions, and be yourself fully. Once in awhile, it’s very important for us to find the time to enjoy solitude, because it keeps us intact and in touch with our inner thoughts and emotions.

Loving Solitude: Why Quality Time Alone Is Essential to Your Well-Being

A man can be himself only so long as he is alone, and if he does not love solitude, he will not love freedom, for it is only when he is alone that he is really free.

- Arthur Schopenhauer

Spending time alone allows you to reconnect with yourself

Moments of solitude provide a great opportunity to delve into parts of yourself that you lose touch with sometimes. Being alone allows you to contemplate who you want to be and what you want to become. I’ve always relished spending time alone because I find that it’s the perfect time to learn more about myself and what my true desires are. It’s a time where you can listen to your own thoughts and feelings and just be completely honest with yourself free from the distractions and expectations of others.

Keeping in touch with yourself is essential to discovering your correct path in life. Dreams and ambitions are often uncovered in moments of solitude, and you’ll most likely find your true passions by taking the time to think about them very carefully.

It will spark the creativity within you

Having the time and the freedom to do the things you actually love doing will help you be more creative and passionate. We have the chance to explore our thoughts freely when we're spending time alone. Our imaginations can begin to run wild, providing the spark for our inner creativity. You'll be able to push your ideas to new boundaries, and most likely continue developing and harnessing your creative talents.

For me, having some alone time is perfect for exploring my thoughts. It’s like my brain is being flexed to come up with new ideas, especially when I’m about to write. That's why I really appreciate some peace and quiet whenever I can get.

Being alone can clear your mind from stress

When you spend a few hours of quality time a week with yourself, you’re essentially clearing your mind from all the stress and anxiety that has built up over the course of the week due to heavy workloads and constant interactions with other people.

Inner and outer peace is very important for us as human beings, and the road to finding that state of calmness starts with embracing solitude. If you find that there’s too much information overload and you can’t handle all the stress that’s building up, just take a step outside for a moment and find some place where you can be all alone, preferably in an open area. Take a few deep breaths, and let it go. I find this really helpful when there’s too much going on in my head, especially when I’m trying to accomplish something and my surroundings are full of distractions.

How much time do we need to spend alone? It all comes down to you personally. It could be a few hours to a few minutes, because all of us have busy schedules. What’s important is you get to spend some quality time with yourself and relish every single second of it.

It soothes our mind and rejuvenates our soul. So embrace being alone from time to time.