Solitude or time to develop yourself?
By Jean Ricot Dormeus
42 years old Marly finds herself alone often and confides that she experienced some trouble making the most of it. At some point, she made up her mind that solitude provides a great opportunity to develop herself. She has embarked on a program for learning, fitness and skills building. Now every moment she is alone has become an occasion to plant seeds for her future, and as such adds quality and class to her life.
Managing solitude or worse loneliness may present serious challenges. Mental traps abound such as idleness and boredom, or TV binge watching and frequent long phone conversations. However, amazing potential gains counterbalance those risks. If we invest a portion of our solitude time in thinking, learning and planning, in just a short while we will see much improvement in our life circumstances.
However, it takes a clear purpose to build such habits. Climbing up a mountain often requires a compelling reason, determination and perseverance. It compares to swimming or paddling upstream. The effort becomes bearable in proportion of the reward we derive from reaching our destination. The higher our expectations, the more motivated we get to put our downtime to good use. Purpose remains a determining factor.
The good use of solitude allows us to contemplate what we can become. Instead of getting sad or depressed, let’s regain energy to move forward. Instead of killing time, let’s make the best investment ever, an investment in our mind. Instead of engaging in empty entertainment, let’s take pleasure in preparing our future.
If you have experienced trouble with solitude, put this special moment to work for you as a time to develop yourself.
Jean Ricot Dormeus
If this blog post resonates with you, share it with your network.
Check out my book “Land of Dormant Dreams – A Walk into the Future” for more tips on developing self and nation.