Embrace the power of solitude and unlock your potential for success. Discover how science supports the transformative impact of solitude on your productivity, creativity, and overall well-being. Let's delve into the five scientifically-backed ways solitude can enhance your success.
Building more solitude into your daily life might actually reduce your feelings of loneliness
Solitude is an essential component to your health and well-being.
- Being alone and feeling lonely are two completely different things
- Some people feel lonely even when they’re not physically in a crowded room
Solitude helps you get to know yourself
When you’re by yourself, you make choices without outside influences
- You develop better insight into who you are
- Being alone will help you grow more comfortable in your skin
- The more you know yourself, the better equipped you’ll be to be your authentic self when others are around
Being alone gives you an opportunity to plan your life
While it’s important to have joint goals with your romantic partner, family members, or business partner, you also need to make sure that you’re living your best life as an individual
- Setting aside time to be alone can help you reflect on your goals, dreams, and aspirations
Improve your relationships
Alone time could improve your relationships.
- Studies show you’ll develop more compassion for other people when you set aside time for solitude.
- You’ll see people who don’t fit into your inner circle as different from you and develop less empathy for them.
How to Set Aside Time to Be Alone
You don’t need to set aside huge chunks of time to be by yourself in order to benefit from solitude
- 10 minutes of alone time a day is enough
- Schedule an activity to do by yourself once a month
- If you’re not used to solitude, it can feel uncomfortable at first
Solitude boosts creativity and productivity
Studies confirm that being alone often fosters creativity.
- In addition to boosting creativity, solitude also skyrockets productivity. Studies consistently show people perform better when they have privacy (which means open floor plans make terrible work environments).
Solitude improves psychological well-being
Studies have found people who set aside time to be alone tend to be happier
- They report better life satisfaction and lower levels of stress, and are also less likely to have depression
- Learning how to be comfortable by yourself may take some getting used to.
