Think living alone is miserable? Here’s why it’s actually powerful

Solitude is not something typically sought-after. People who prefer to be left to their own devices are often called antisocial, lone wolf, and many other names that are sometimes not very nice. And the thought of living all by oneself is often considered a miserable condition and most people do not desire to try such a feat. 

It is true that while almost everyone likes to have company, many people do well just by themselves. And while we are not suggesting that you should live alone forever, there are many things to learn from living alone for a few months. 

What time is it? 

Living with your family, you might not realise how precious every second is. But when you are on your own, you need to plan your daily tasks and execute them by the clock. Within a few weeks, you develop a schedule and you realise how valuable time really is and the importance of having a plan for your day. Even your weekends are filled with tasks that you just cannot postpone. The importance of doing everything by the clock is one of the first things you learn while living alone. 

“Sometimes I wonder where did the weekends go? Then I realise I was so busy taking care of the chores that I didn’t have time to relax,” said one Anik, who has recently started a job and now lives alone, renting a small room. 

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Finances are tough

Budgeting and maintaining that budget is a challenge even when you have plenty. It becomes a herculean task when you are on your own and on a limited budget. Soon, you learn to prioritise and make logical decisions. This teaches you valuable life lessons that you would never learn from any books or classes. You will be surprised how difficult it is to live on a budget, and even more surprised when you learn to make it work. At the end of the month, if you manage to save a few thousand, you will be quite elated with yourself. And this life lesson of properly managing your money will help you for the rest of your life. 

So much to learn

When you start living all by yourself, you will discover that there’s so much to learn, especially chores. You will have to learn to do laundry by yourself, which to be honest, is just as tedious as it sounds but you will have no choice but to do it anyway. You will have to learn to cook and clean, which is a basic life skill and everyone should learn sooner rather than later. 

You will learn that cleaning is more difficult than you have imagined and you will be extra careful not to get things dirty. Menial tasks such as grocery run and cleaning the window panels will bore you out of your mind, but you will learn them regardless. 

The confidence boosts

With all the challenges and hardship of living alone, there is also a very important reward. It comes with a confidence boost that you just can’t find in any other way.

The more you learn to do different and new things, the better you will be feeling about yourself. Besides, whatever situation is thrown at you, you will have to deal with them all by yourself. This teaches confrontation, handling pressure, standing up for oneself, taking care of oneself, and all that accumulates to confidence that simply makes you a better person who is well-equipped for whatever challenge is thrown at him. 

The ultimate self-discovery

The most important reason to live alone is that it drives through a path that leads to absolute self-discovery. “The growth I had that time has changed me forever,” said one Kashfia Kaba, who was recalling her time in Prague during her studies. “Starting from scratch, I have lived alone, travelled alone. There was a language barrier, different system and way of life. In the end, the growth I had that time has changed me forever,” she recounted, stating that living alone makes you see yourself as who you are exactly. 

And it makes sense. Being on your own, one has to fight every single day, survive the challenges, take care of your own self and whate

ver time is left at the end of the day, you get them with your literal self. You discover your strengths and weakness, and you get to know your true nature. Then you wake up and you do it all over again, only better. This self-discovery cannot be achieved in any other way. 

Even if you do not need to, one should live all by themselves for a few months just to learn the basic life skills. But what really should be sought after is that self-discovery. It sounds like a stolen line from a philosophy book, but ask anyone who has lived alone. The journey of self-discovery is never easy and living alone is probably the easiest first step.