“You can never feel lonely when you like the person you’re alone with.” – Wayne Dyer

I often get to hear from clients who do coaching with me, that they start spending more time alone. Very interesting, and here is why: as they start seeing themselves in a different light and love themselves more, spending more Me-time becomes pleasant and enjoyable.

Just think from this perspective: out of everyone you know in the world, the only person that is always present in your life, non-negotiable, day and night, is YOU.

So if you don’t like being all by yourself, at least from time to time, you might need to work on the most important relationship you’ll ever get in life – the one with yourself.

To some people, the need to be alone could also be a personality issue, as introverted persons want to charge their batteries from the inside out and don’t always need to be surrounded by others. Meanwhile, I have met very extroverted people who suddenly didn’t need to spend so much of their time with others and started focusing more on themselves.

Now, don’t get me wrong. We all need to be included and to belong to a particular group or community. As defined by Descartes, humans are “social animals.” However, many people use others as a diverting tool that helps them run from themselves.

I’ve been there as well in the past – pleasing others so that I could feel included, or keeping the TV switched on all day long in my home, even if I wasn’t watching. In reality, I was using that noise to run from my own thoughts and emotions.

You see, when we have a harmonic relationship with Self and we turn into our own best friend, spending time with others is not a need, but a wish and a matter of personal choice.

In other words, we need to be surrounded by people, but we are not needy of their presence in our lives.

The capacity to be alone is the capacity to love. It may look paradoxical to you, but it’s not. It is an existential truth: only those people who are capable of being alone are capable of love, of sharing, of going into the deepest core of another person – without possessing the other, without becoming dependent on the other, without reducing the other to a thing, and without becoming addicted to the other. They allow the other absolute freedom, because they know that if the other leaves, they will be as happy as they are now. Their happiness cannot be taken by the other, because it is not given by the other.” – Osho

And now, I would like to hear from you. How do you feel, when alone? Happy, scared, sad, anxious, at ease? Share in the comments below!


Sara Fabian is a Women’s Empowerment & Career Coach and inspirational speaker, on a mission to help professional women to discover their unique strengths, gifts and talents, boost their confidence, find their calling and live a meaningful life of purpose. For weekly inspiration, subscribe to her free newsletter at www.sarafabiancoaching.com or follow her on Facebook.