“Loneliness is about perceiving that no one is there for you. But solitude is about making a choice to be alone with your thoughts”.

I firmly believe that it takes time, and age, to grow comfortable with being alone with yourself. When you are young, peer pressure and the absolute necessity of being accepted as part of a group, doesn’t allow you to consider “alone time” as something good for you. You don’t want to look like an outcast, you don’t want to be perceived as a “nerd and weird” person. All you care about is fitting in.

Once you grow older, and once you give up caring about what people think of you, you are liberated of a burden and you can actually start to enjoy your life. And spending time with yourself, putting your priorities first, doing what matters to you, is going to become a very important part of your life. You can become more productive, your empathy will increase, your creativity may spark, it is good for your mental health and it offers restoration.

“The key to making alone time helpful, is that it has to be a choice. The key is to create positive experiences with solitude”.

And the best part is, that you can choose to spend this time whichever way you want and makes you happy. There are no rules neither restrictions. Walk by the beach, go shopping, listen to music, read, dance, watch a movie, practice a sport, meditate, study…the list is endless.

I truly believe that people underestimate the power of alone time. They are so busy making sure they don’t feel alone, that they forget the benefits that this can have for you. When you are alone, you can think freely, you can be yourself, you can choose what when how where, you are not affected by others, you are not under scrutiny, you can enjoy your own company and learn to love yourself more and more.

I remember exactly the time I learned to spend more time with myself, and would never give it up for the world. It became so important for me, such a pivotal time in my life, where I dedicate myself to me. That is when I rediscovered the passion for reading, that led me to where I am today: writing this blog.

Do not be scared to spend time alone. You are actually never really alone: you have always got YOU.