The Reason Why We Need Time Alone
Our daily activities can sometimes make us stressed and fed up. We get tired of having the same routine every day. From getting up in the morning, prepare to work eight (or more!) hours, traveling to and from work, and spend our meager free time on Netflix or social media until we fall asleep and face the same day tomorrow. Then, when the weekend finally comes, it’s fleeting and before we know it, it’s Monday again!
I found out a joke on Facebook recently. It said: “Life isn’t fair. Why does Monday to Friday take five days, but Saturday to Sunday only feels like one day?”
I had a question that I couldn’t answer with a good explanation; why do most people only feel excitement for the weekend? I do that too. I get tired of my work week and I want the weekend to come faster. Sometimes I wish I could even skip the week days!
Boredom makes us psychologically and emotionally exhausted. Sometimes when we hit the rock bottom, we question ourselves:
“Why am I not passionate about my life?”
“Why is my life monotonous?”
We can’t change external factors and force them to make you feel ALIVE. What we can do is start from within. Do the things that make you happy. Go on a solo ‘date’, just yourself. Maybe a walk in nature, or a beer at cozy cafe or a long drive. Just you and your thoughts. How about a movie with yourself? There are tons of things that you can do to divert your mind from the things that are annoying you.
Enjoying quality time alone is important to me. A few times per month, I take a break and just do my hobbies on my own; I escape from my reality or from my daily activities and solely focus on the story of a movie. I just lay down in my bed and spend my time without much thinking and only focus on the screen.
Sometimes, if I have enough energy left after work, I will run three to five kilometers - just to release the stress. When we have a hard time at work, what we need the most is to release our work-stress and burdens! Sometimes, I don’t have energy; I’m just exhausted. In those times, I might cry on may home. Cry out of loud where nobody can hear or see me.
What is the point of giving yourself alone time? Well, it means that you can explore these things without the pressures and judgments that others may impose. Having time to yourself is critical for growth and personal development. Instead of worrying about the needs, interests, and opinions that others may have, alone time lets you focus on yourself.
In my workplace environment, we always think about other people first over ourselves. For instance, we care for and prioritize our family, our partner, and even our colleagues.
I have a married friend that barely has any time for herself. She’s always busy with housework, looking after her husband and kids, and doing her day job too. The stress she has makes her looks older than her age. Whenever I ask her if she’s okay, she just smiles and nods; even when I know she’s definitely not okay. What would she have to do to have time for herself? Ignore the needs of her family? Of course not! In my opinion, she should discuss it with her husband, and ask if he can help more so that she can have time to her self away from her busy life. Even if it’s just half a day here and there to go to Salon for a spa or beauty service. If she’s happier, she will bring more joy to her family, I can guarantee it! Good moods create better relationships.
Having quality time alone can help you to improve your mental health by giving you the opportunity to purge the toxicity from your life and allow you to “mentally reset”.
I found an article online listing 10 benefits of spending time alone; you can click this link to read about it.
Finally, remember that NOBODY cannot help you except YOURSELF. Take care of your body, mind and soul, and live the life you want. If there’s something you can’t change, don’t think too hard about it. Try to manage what you can - start by controlling your mind.
