The last thing anyone wants is to feel lonely or afraid to be alone with my thoughts, especially when reaching out for help.
But sometimes, being alone is the only way we can truly understand our problems and learn how to overcome them.
When you are alone, there’s no one else to blame, and sometimes, being alone with your thoughts can be dangerous. There is no one around who might offer you an easy solution or tell you that everything will be okay.
Instead, you have to be your own rock and foundation. You have to be strong enough to stand up for yourself when the world around you is crumbling down.
Key Takeaways
- Self-care is paramount. Engage in activities like exercise, meditation, journaling, and finding places to go alone to clear your head. Hobbies also play a crucial role in maintaining both physical and mental well-being. Make self-care a regular habit for maximum benefits.
- Find meaning and purpose. Engage in volunteering, pursue passions, or set goals. Expose yourself to various ideas and experiences through the power of introspection to discover what truly resonates with you.
- Practice gratitude regularly. Keeping a gratitude journal or practicing mindfulness can keep your mind calm and can shift your focus from negativity to positivity, especially when alone. It helps in developing a strong and positive mindset.
- Stay physically active. Physical activity not only boosts your health but also strengthens your mind. Consistent exercise, even simple activities like walking or stretching, can make a significant difference.
- Plan and stay occupied. Design your time, from years to seconds, to ensure you’re progressing towards something meaningful and fulfilling. Using tools like personal journals can help in tracking progress and setting goals. While being as productive with your time as possible is important, taking time for yourself is just as crucial, so be sure to include time to rest and enjoy things as well.
How can I stay strong alone in life?
Even though being alone can be hard at times, it’s important to remember that it can help you learn more about yourself and become stronger. Let’s look at some practical ways to stay strong when you are alone:
Invest in your own self-care.
Prioritize self-care activities such as exercise, meditation, journaling, and hobbies to maintain physical and mental well-being. These activities provide you with a much-needed break from the stresses of life.
They can also help you to feel more energized, balanced, and focused so that you are better able to handle whatever challenges come your way.
The true benefits of self-care are harvested when it becomes a regular habit, not just something you do once or occasionally.
In addition to the ones mentioned above, here are some of the most simple, yet most beneficial, forms of self-care to adopt as part of your daily routine.
- Reading
- Running/walking
- Stretching
- Waking up early
- Getting enough sleep (around 7-8 hours)
- Drinking plenty of water THROUGHOUT the day
The key to creating and sticking to habits is by starting small (like 2 mins every day, 2-minute rule), and slowly ramping things up over time, depending on your comfort level. Also, be sure to STANDARDIZE before you OPTIMIZE if you want the habit to develop and last.
Find meaning and purpose.
Volunteer, pursue a passion, or set goals to find meaning and purpose in life. The more meaning and purpose you find in your life, the less likely you will be to feel alone.
If you don’t know where to start, exposing your mind to various ideas and experiences through reading, listening to podcasts, watching personal development videos, and following a few inspirational people can help spark your inner desires.
Here are some great books that helped many (including myself) find what they want in life:
- Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki
- Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill
- Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins
- The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck by Mark Manson
- The War of Art by Steven Pressfield
- The 4-Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris
Heck, you can even go out and try a bunch of different hobbies and learning skills, and see what clicks for you. The idea is to not be afraid of experimenting and exploring the world around you, and you’ll eventually find something that gives you meaning and purpose.
Practice gratitude.
Keep a gratitude journal or practice mindfulness to focus on the good things in your life. Especially when you are alone, it’s easy to fall into a negative mental spiral.
If you want to develop a strong mindset in life, practicing gratitude is essential, since it helps you appreciate what you have and shifts your focus away from what is missing or what has gone wrong.
Practicing gratitude can include making a list of things that you are thankful for, writing letters to people who have made an impact on your life, or writing a note to yourself about what you want out of life.
A key aspect of practicing gratitude is doing it regularly since being thankful every day helps rewire your mind towards a more positive outlook on life. This is crucial when you are alone since you essentially become your own source of support and positive energy.
With a more consistently positive attitude, you can better cope with adversity, cultivate good experiences, and even have better health.
Stay active.
Staying strong alone doesn’t just mean mentally, but also physically. Being physically active can help you deal with the stress of being alone, but it also increases your overall health and well-being.
A strong body equals a strong mind, and vice versa. With a strong priority on exercise, you can develop not just a chiseled and capable body, but also mental fortitude that will help get you through the darkest of times in solitude.
The beauty of exercise is that it can come in many forms —and it doesn’t have to be an intense, sweaty workout (well, at least not yet if you’re just starting out).
It can be as simple as taking a walk outside, doing some stretches throughout the day, or pumping out some simple pushups/pullups at home. The key thing is that you’re consistently exercising on a daily basis.
After developing the habit of religiously exercising, you can then focus on optimizing and gradually ramping things up to just outside your comfort level and limit.
Because really, it is the persevering effort you make after you’ve hit your limit that will account for much of your progress and growth. If you’re looking for some simple exercises to help get you started, check out these suggestions:
- Pushups (try Tyson pushups for a challenge)
- Pull-ups/dips
- Jogging/running (steady-state or intervals is up to you)
- Swimming (any stroke will work)
- Mountain climbers
- Squats/lunges
Or, if you have an interest in sports, don’t be afraid to try various ones out. Try as many as you can and determine which suits you. You might even find a new favorite hobby!
Make plans and keep busy.
As stated above, being alone has the tendency to drive you into a loop of negative thoughts and emotions. To counteract this, make plans and keep your mind and body occupied.
Make it a habit to design your time and shape your own destiny. Design your year, month, week, day, hours, or even seconds for a clear sense of direction and purpose.
This will help you focus on the things that matter most and keep your mind off of draining unproductive thoughts.
A good way of monitoring and managing your time is by keeping a personal journal. Whether it’s jotting down your ideas, setting goals, creating checklists, a daily schedule, or tracking progress, a journal is an immensely powerful yet underrated tool for staying in control and being the master of your fate.
Conclusion
Being alone can be one of the best things that ever happened to you, as you find peace in solitude. It teaches you how to become self-sufficient and gives you the opportunity to reflect on your life and make necessary changes, whether it be for yourself or for others around you.
If you can harness the power of being alone, it will help you become your own pillar of strength and a much stronger and more resilient individual.