Picture this: You’re home alone, it’s quiet and you’re about to go to bed. Do you sleep with the TV on or a loud fan? If so, it may be safe to assume that the sound of silence bothers you. Or maybe you’re single and the idea of being alone scares you.
Learning to enjoy your own company means being with yourself and your thoughts in absolute nothingness. Whatever you’re reason for being here and however you got here, my intention for this article is to help you gain perspective on not only how, but why being by yourself is not only liberating but empowering as well.
Learn How To Enjoy Your Own Company by Acknowledging Habits
You’re in your car approaching a red light. It’s the middle of traffic hour. All of a sudden, you see an empty space to the left lane open up ahead of you.
What’s your first instinct?
If you think you’d switch lanes and fill that space, that’s perfectly normal. I myself have done this even though I’m still stuck at that red light for who knows how long.
This shows up in other areas of our life. We think that by somehow filling the space that things will be different. Until we realize that we’re still stuck with ourselves at that metaphorical red light that we call life.
Where are we rushing to?
We look down at our phones, turn some music on, or maybe even get on a phone call just to fill the space. Do we really despise ourselves that much that we need to get away from ourselves?
Ever hear someone say, “I can’t go to sleep unless I have the TV on.” Perhaps that’s you. Silence screams and people don’t like the noise of nothingness. There’s this natural tendency to fill it.
And who could blame you?
Ever since you were a little kid you’ve been bombarded with sound. The most silence you’ve ever gotten to experience in this life were probably the 9-months you were developing inside of your mothers womb.
How long ago was that? It’s clear to see that it’s been a while since you’ve truly been by yourself, with yourself, experiencing your entire being without any sort of noise to fill the space of silence.
Just know that you’re not alone. We all do it and I myself still do it from time to time. Now that we’ve acknowledged what we as humans do, here are some activities that you can do to create more mindfulness and to enjoy your own company.
Things To Do By Yourself
Exercise –– If you already go to the gym, this one for you is a no brainer. If you’ve never been physically active, this is definitely going to be a challenge but it’s worth it. Go to the gym, go on a walk, move your body at a dance class, take self-defense, etc.
Whatever you do, you want to move your body and get connected with yourself. This is going to get you out of the house and out of your head. You may even meet people in public that you otherwise wouldn’t have met but more importantly you’re doing something by yourself by choice.
Take Yourself To The Movies –– YOU DON’T NEED TO HAVE A DATE TO GO TO THE MOVIES. Learn to date yourself. Taking yourself to the gym is a form of physical self care and taking yourself to the movies is psychological health care. Who says you can’t go to a movie and enjoy your own company? You can have a good laugh, a good cry, or get the crap scared out of you if scary movies are your thing. Regardless of what you’re seeing, you get to enjoy the movie with you.
Drive In The Car Without Any Audio –– No music, no podcasts, no watching YouTube videos, no Netflix, nothing. Just sit and be. If there’s one thing that will help you enjoy your own company, it’s this right here––especially if you commute a lot. I’m not saying it’s not okay to listen to music or to learn and listen to podcasts to increase your knowledge, but take some time to sit in silence. This alone will help you gain a lot more presence and you’ll begin to learn that you are actually pretty cool to be around.
Take A Solo Trip –– I absolutely love traveling. It’s exhilarating but can also be scary due to the fear of the unknown. But I can tell you through experience that taking a solo trip is one of the best investments you can ever make in yourself. You don’t have to catch an international flight, it can be a simple trip an hour or two away to some local getaway near your home town or even a quick train ride. Whatever that is for you, do it. You’re bound to meet some great people and it can definitely help you get more comfortable and confident in your own skin.
No Matter Where You Go, You’ll Always Have To Take You With You
So you might as well learn how to enjoy your own company 🙂