The current Covid-19 pandemic is a depressing, scary, and challenging time for all of us. On top of that, we don’t have the same social support networks as we did before. It’s difficult having to social distance from our friends, family, and other networks. However, there are some positive benefits of spending time alone.
Even if you don’t live alone, these trying times can be very lonely and isolating for many people. We’re forced to spend much more time indoors, rather than going out and doing the things we enjoy the most.
However, it’s important to remember that these difficult times are only temporary. Although it may seem far off right now, we must remember that eventually, the world will come back to normal and we will all return to the busy hustle of modern living.
But maybe, we don’t want everything to return to exactly the way it was before this pandemic. If you’re like me, there are some things, i.e. people, places of work or personal bad habits, that you don’t want to go back to once the world returns to normal.
While it’s often difficult to spend more time alone, it is also a unique opportunity to create positive changes in our lives and within ourselves. These may be the changes we’ve been putting off for years. Instead of falling into loneliness and despair, we can remain optimistic by focusing on the positive aspects of our situation.
Being a social butterfly and busy-body has its perks, but it can also distract us from taking the necessary time to face our personal issues, painful emotions, and unresolved feelings about our lives.
I’m a firm believer that we can create the changes we want to see within ourselves and our lives. But, first, we have to get clear on what kind of change is needed for the results we truly desire. By spending time alone and looking within, you learn to reconnect with your own inner voice. If you listen closely it will tell you what limiting behaviors you need to release, or changes to enact that will create a more fuller, happier, and fulfilling life.
Maintaining a positive perspective during these chaotic times will reduce stress and keep you motivated. Read on for three positive benefits of spending more time alone due to the pandemic.
3 Positive Benefits of Spending Time Alone
1. Create a Healthier Relationship with Yourself
When we’re so busy running from one activity to the next, we start to lose focus on ourselves. We don’t make time to reflect on how we’re really feeling and if our goals are really aligned with what we truly value.
Spending time alone is a great opportunity to improve the relationship you have with yourself.
Self-love is about acknowledging and accepting all of who you are – the good and bad, the awesome and the ugly. The more self-love we have, the easier it is to be ourselves, connect with others, and pursue our goals.
Learn to Enjoy your own Company
Your relationship with yourself is not that different from other relationships in your life. To be a healthy one it requires spending quality time and care.
By spending more time alone, you can get to the point where you actually enjoy and look forward to this special time with yourself. Don’t worry, this doesn’t mean you’ll become some kind of weird hermit-loner, but that you will regularly put aside sufficient time to spend with just yourself.
Alone time can be spent doing things you truly enjoy like taking a relaxing stroll, reading a good book, exploring somewhere new, or simply laying out at the beach.
Improved Relationships with Others
Learning to enjoy some alone time allows us to feel more comfortable with ourselves and less dependent on others for entertainment or emotional support. When we can cultivate our own peace and happiness, it makes spending time with others even more fulfilling.
When you feel ‘full’ from within, it creates a different dynamic when you do spend time with others. There will be less emotional neediness on them to ‘fill you up’ because your cup is already full. And then you can more easily focus on others – on what they need and how you can be your most giving and loving self.
Practice Self-Love
A healthy amount of self-love is more than just good feelings and saying positive things to yourself. Self-love is a verb. It’s about taking actions that confirm we are valuable, such as making time for self-care.
Self-love means developing the habit of consistently making time to do the things we know are good for us, be it journaling, meditation, exercise, eating healthy or tending to our finances.
Taking time for reflection is also an invaluable tool for healing and self-growth. If spending time alone makes you feel uncomfortable or bothers you in some way, use it as an exercise to explore. Ask yourself, ‘Why does spending time alone bother me so much?’ ‘What am I afraid of or trying to avoid?’ And ‘What do I feel like when I spend time alone?’
Reflecting on your answers will help you discover the fears, negative beliefs and mindsets that need to be released so you can grow in self-love, confidence, and inner peace.
Read Related: 5 Self-Loving Mindsets that Create Healthy Relationships
2. You Connect to Your Spiritual Self
Alone-ness can be a beautiful thing. It helps us connect to our spiritual self or faith. This is the side of us that feels connected to something bigger – we may believe to be the universe, a religious deity, or just that deeper, non physical part within all of us.
This part of ourselves is always there, but with all the noise and busyness of our daily lives it so often gets drowned out. Connecting to our spiritual selves is extremely healing and beneficial in many ways.
The most immediate benefit is a feeling of inner peace, calm, well-being, and contentment – a sense that everything is okay just as it is now. This feeling may last for only a few seconds or minutes at first, but with regular practice it will continue to grow within you and cross into your daily life.
Connect to your spiritual side through meditation, yoga, mindfulness, journaling, listening to music, taking a relaxing stroll, or just doing anything alone that brings you a sense of calm and inner stillness.
Try quieting your mind through meditation. It’ll put a pause on noisy thought patterns that cause stress and anxiety. This will help you get in touch with your deeper, spiritual self.
3. You Discover Your Own Desires & Goals
The world is a noisy, chaotic place. Most of our own thoughts and feelings are significantly influenced by others. We’re constantly bombarded with images and ads from social media, TV, radio, and from everywhere else that we look. These subtle messages tell us what we should desire, how we should be living, and what we should value.
If we don’t make the time to silence all the outer noise, we’ll lose the ability to tune into our own inner voice.
If you learn to listen closely, your inner voice will start to tell you what you truly want and need. It is like getting in touch with your truest, most authentic self. Sometimes this voice is also called the heart or our intuition.
You have take time for yourself to discover what you truly want and value.
When your life is not in line with your values it can cause feelings of frustration, confusion, or depression. Take time to ask yourself what it is your really want based on your values. Discovering your values will lead to your deepest desires. Then take steps everyday to make it happen!
Conclusion
So while it’s difficult to have to spend more time alone during this pandemic, remember these three positive benefits.
Spending more time alone leads to a healthier relationship with yourself. Take the extra time to cultivate more self-love and acceptance. Make time for stillness and redefining your goals and highest values. This may require making some changes in your daily routine and lifestyle.
Remember that these trying times will not last forever. Make the most of where you are now, knowing it will set you up for an even brighter future.
Read Next: 5 Bad Habits to Remove from your Morning Routine
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