TL;DR Spending time alone is often seen as a sign of loneliness. On the contrary, being alone doesn’t mean that you’re lonely. It could mean that you’re taking a break or spending time with your thoughts – activities that can greatly help us re-center ourselves.

We have the notion that when you are alone, you are sad. This may be true in some cases, but alone also means that you can listen to your thoughts and have a relaxing moment with yourself.

We are social beings, but spending time with ourselves can do wonders for our well-being. It helps us build confidence, and we get to assess ourselves in situations, which helps us improve on how to carry ourselves.

We are always surrounded by people almost all the time, and it is rare nowadays that we can spend some alone time with ourselves. With all the noise and distractions, it is always better to stand your ground in any situation in public and have the confidence to stand alone and proud.

Here are some of the reasons why spending time with ourselves is important:

Break from Social Media

Social media has become a large factor in our daily lives, becoming a distraction, a way for us to communicate, and a tool for our livelihood, but too much social media can hurt our well-being.

Taking a step back from social media will allow you to gather your thoughts, listen to them, and clearly understand them, rather than simply ignoring them by distracting yourself.

When you have clear and positive thoughts, it will show how you react to situations and how you carry yourself in public. Put down your phone for a bit, do something that doesn’t require you to touch them, and it would be more beneficial if you did it by yourself.

You Know Yourself Better

When you spend time alone, you get a chance to assess yourself and recognize your strengths and weaknesses. It gives you a sense of responsibility for yourself and the ability to self-improve.

Being able to take responsibility for yourself helps you make decisions where you are thinking about yourself first; it is not being selfish, but you are making your well-being a priority. It is always valuable when we commit to something. 

And being able to improve ourselves helps us grow as a person in how we think, our maturity, and how we react in situations. And in this way, we can properly carry ourselves in any crowd or environment.

Builds Confidence

Being able to spend time with yourself in public builds confidence. It helps you to be comfortable in your own skin when surrounded by people. And it also helps you learn how to handle stress and increase happiness.

By being able to spend time with yourself alone, you are building character where nothing petty will upset you. It strengthens your self-belief that you can handle things in any situation. And by being confident in yourself, you can stand proud in a crowd, which is something that only a few can do.

You can Relax 

The opportunity to truly relax is one of the main benefits of alone time. One of the best ways to show yourself, love, is to give time to pamper yourself. You can look after your body both physically and mentally.

It’s nice to slow down with friends and spend quality time with them, but it is also necessary to do it by yourself. Because you are paying attention to your body and mind, you have the time to do what you want without worrying about what others might think or compromising on what you want.

When was the last time you accomplished something that made a difference in the strain and responsibilities you faced every day? So treat yourself to a good meal or go to that cafe that you always wanted to try.

Improve Relationship

Being in a relationship doesn’t mean that you cannot spend time with yourself alone. In fact, having alone time can help strengthen your relationship.

Having to spend time with yourself helps you see your partner in a new way; you get to appreciate them more, and it renews the desire for one another. And because you were able to work on yourself, you can be a rock to your partner, and you can support them emotionally, mentally, and physically better.

You Can Clear Your Thoughts

In my opinion, the best benefit of spending time alone is that you can clear your thoughts, the same thoughts that are bothering you all week long. This is beneficial for your well-being and mental health.

Being able to listen to your thoughts, no matter how distracting they may be, is a step closer to clearing your mind. You can sort things out and have a better vision of how to approach a challenge. This helps you to manage a situation better.

Don’t be afraid to spend time alone, especially in troubled times. Listening to your thoughts can help you see things more clearly and have a better grasp of the situation. Meditating is one of the ways to clear your mind; it helps you to be relaxed and calm. 

We are so preoccupied with other things that we have forgotten to care for ourselves; self-care is the best love we can give to ourselves. Having time to spend with ourselves will help us get to know ourselves better, better cope with things around us, and overall make us better people.

Embrace your alone time. It will give us solitude; it will help us become the person we can depend on in our troubled times; and most of all, it will make us comfortable with who we really are. An identity that no one can take away from us.

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Krysti (Lan Chi) Vo, MD, is a psychiatrist speaker, and advisor. And has tons of articles similar to this. Visit our website so you can read more and let us help you become a better version of yourself.