In My Experience

Alone

To be alone is powerful. It takes strength to stand on your own and be comfortable with who you are. Being alone gives you the opportunity to truly look at yourself, analyze your choices, and decide what needs to change. That kind of introspection is necessary for growth. The ability to see yourself clearly, without deflecting or placing blame elsewhere, takes maturity. Taking responsibility and making the decision to change is a superpower. No matter your age, being able to look within yourself and decide to become better is powerful.

There is also power in choosing to be alone with yourself. In those moments, there is no one else to lean on or distract you from your own thoughts. You have to sit with yourself and decide what you will allow your mind to become. Choosing positivity instead of negativity takes sincere care and intention. Learning to genuinely like yourself for who you are, even if you are naturally gregarious and enjoy being around others, is a feat of its own.

Being alone does not have to mean being lonely. It can mean becoming comfortable with yourself. It can mean understanding what you need, what you value, and what you are capable of becoming. Self-actualization is attainable and sustainable when you are willing to do the work within yourself. In many ways, self-care can be the result of learning how to be alone.

The ability to stand alone, like yourself, and take care of yourself is part of reaching your full potential. Standing for what is right, discerning what is wrong, and having the forthrightness to declare that something needs to change in the world must first begin with self. Before attempting to impact the world around you, you have to be honest about who you are when no one else is around.

Think of a beautiful flower growing alone in a bed of rock. Around it may be flourishing bushes and green grass, yet the flower stands on its own. It does not stop growing because it stands alone. It continues to bloom. It soaks up the sun and absorbs the nutrients it needs to live its seasonal life of greatness. Those who pass by may admire its beauty, but the flower does not bloom only because someone is there to see it.

It simply blooms.

Alone.