Do you enjoy your own company?

Dear Friend,

How much do you enjoy your own company?

I saw this chart on my social media feed the other day, and it got me thinking.

The fact of the matter is as we get older, we are going to be spending an increasing amount of time alone.

For many of us, being alone is a scary place.
And so we feverishly fill every moment of our day
with activities
with distractions
with anything that would numb the boredom or the stress of being alone with our thoughts

But, is being alone such a bad thing?
Not necessarily.

There are two words that capture the idea of being alone.
One has a negative connotation.
The other an empowering one.

The first word is LONELY.
For many of us, being alone is a scary place.
Loneliness is a painful feeling, marked by a sense of isolation. You could be surrounded by others and still feel lonely.

The second word is SOLITUDE.
Solitude is different.
Solitude is actively cultivating alone time for reflection or the enjoyment of your own company.
Solitude is an empowered choice.

Solitude has many benefits.

• It can help you cultivate self-awareness, as you use quiet time to reflect on who you are and what is important to you.
• It heightens your creativity, as you give the mind the time and space to wander where it may, and tap into ideas and observations that may not come to an otherwise busy mind.
• It helps you devote focused time to long-term goals that matter to you.
• It helps you build mental strength and resilience.
• And, the more you enjoy your own company, the less inclined you might be to stay in relationships that don’t serve you well.

So, here’s my invitation to you to fall in love with your own company.

• Make time to meditate
• Journal and capture your thoughts and reflections
• Take a walk in nature
• Spend some quiet time reading
• Or, take yourself out on a date – go for a play, to the museum or on a dinner date all by yourself.

As Richard Foster wrote: “Loneliness is inner emptiness. Solitude is inner fulfilment.”

Write to me and tell me if and how you actively cultivate time for solitude?

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