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Real Stories

The Importance of Solitude

How many of you actually spend time in the evening alone, reflecting on everything that happened during the day? What was your overall mood? What was the reason behind that mood? What was your reaction to what happened? How did you respond to everyone and every situation? How was your day?

Not so many of us, right?

Solitude is not just for reflecting, it’s also the main catalyst that brings about personal growth. People who hardly spend time alone never get a chance to listen to their own inner voice, which helps them make better decisions. Instead, they tend to be dependent on others for their happiness. Spending time alone every day creates a significant impact on how you perceive yourself and how much you can tolerate from people, because you begin to learn what’s best for you.

We mingle with friends, family and colleagues on a daily basis, and their energies rub off on us. There will always be one colleague or friend who complains nonstop or one person whose vibe is never cheery, and as much as we want to think this doesn’t affect us, it does. Think about how tired you are after spending time with a group of people—even if you didn’t speak much or perform any physical activity, you’re just tired. Your mind and body are trying to say something to you: you need some time in solitude. You need to literally wash off the bad energies by taking a bath or shower and mentally wash them off by thinking of all the good that actually happened during the day (even if it was a lame meme on social media).

Humans run on batteries, too, only our batteries are in a form of food, laughter, alone time and sleep. Without these, we feel exhausted, which is why we need them to actually survive a normal day. Start confiding in yourself. Conduct self-discovery sessions, asking yourself personal questions and answering them honestly.

Solitude brings you closer to yourself—it makes you dependent on yourself, it makes you believe in yourself and it helps you make better decisions based on what you want, not what other people want.

Solitude helps you figure out what’s good for you. Spending time alone allows you to critically analyze the people you hang out with to see if they’re helping or hindering your growth with their negativity. You get to improve on how you react to situations and prepare yourself. You also get to evaluate whether you’re genuinely happy, and what to do if you’re not. So, from now on, get into the habit of checking up on yourself every evening and watch yourself slowly fall in love with who you really are.

Like this post? View similar content here: I don’t have room for you, because I’ll always be here for me.

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by Mbalenhle Khuzwayo

A writer, explorer and creator who enjoys sharing her experiences and lessons. A lover of all things Art and adventure.


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