Learning how to be alone is one of the greatest skills in life. Few people master it from an early age – and some people never grasp how to do it at all!
Being alone can be lonely, but it can also be the total opposite – depending on how you feel about your alone time.
When you genuinely enjoy your own company, having a day to yourself is a dream come true. You can do what you want, go where you want, wear what you want, and get lost in the wonderful world that’s inside your head.
It takes a certain kind of person to enjoy being alone. You have a certain type of personality – and it shows through in all your traits.
Up first:
1) You’re introverted
When you enjoy your own company, you’re almost certainly an introvert at heart.
Introverts gain energy from spending time alone (which is the opposite of extroverts, who gain energy from the company of others). So, alone time is a necessity for you.
Without time by yourself, you feel drained, burned out, and like you’re on the back foot of your entire life (trust me, I know!).
So, it makes complete sense that time alone is something you genuinely enjoy.
Whether you use it to engage in your hobbies, visit new places, or just kick back and relax – being alone is a pleasant part of your everyday.
2) You’re highly independent
You can’t enjoy time alone unless you’re an independent person (in my opinion, anyway!).
The definition of being independent means doing things by yourself.
And since being alone is something you genuinely find joy in (rather than do when you absolutely have to), that means you have independence.
In relationships, you never find yourself becoming codependent. Spending time alone is part of your daily or weekly routines – and you’d go mad without it!
And in everyday life, whether it’s at school or work, you’re perfectly happy to stand out from the crowd and do things differently from everyone else.
Why? Because you’re independent!
3) You’re self-validating
Everyone needs external validation. Experts say that being accepted by the people around us forms an important part of our self-worth.
But it’s also important not to rely on the validation of others. Instead, you need to find a balance between validating yourself and accepting validation from others if you want to find true happiness in yourself.
But what about if you already enjoy your own company? Well, you’ve already mastered this skill.
When you enjoy your own company, you don’t need someone else to tell you it’s OK to go to the coffee shop alone to read your book. Nor do you need someone else’s approval to change jobs or start a new hobby!
You just do it because you want to.
And you’re OK with knowing that not everyone will find your out-of-hours activities (or anything you do in life!) as enjoyable as you do.
4) You’re a deep thinker
Who needs other people when you have your own brain to keep you company?
When you enjoy your own company, you’re definitely a bit of an overthinker. Your overactive mind can give you all the entertainment you need.
A train journey without headphones would drive some folk insane – but not you!
You don’t need people, music, a book, or anything else to be entertained (even though you do like those things).
You can quite happily spend the day with just you and your own thoughts. And the things you think about can take you on endless journeys that keep your mind busy for hours!
5) You’re self-motivated
Everyone flags a little bit from time to time (and we should cut ourselves some slack about it!). But when you enjoy your own company, you have more self-motivation than most.
Some people rely on the motivation of others to achieve things in life. They need others to energize them, empower them, and hold them accountable to their to-do lists.
But for you? You don’t need any of that. Sure, you benefit from a little bit of encouragement sometimes.
But no one has to tell you to get outside for that walk – or text that friend, apply for that new job, go to the gym, etc., etc, etc.
You just do it. Because if you don’t motivate yourself, who else is going to?
6) You’re emotionally strong
Being able to enjoy time alone is a skill few people learn to curate. So, you’ll often hear people say how strong and self-reliant you are as a person.
To you, it’s just what you do, and it comes naturally. But to other people (namely, those who hate spending time alone), you’re a supreme being!
And deep down, you know you’re a strong person. Being alone doesn’t faze you, and you rarely feel knocked down by the troubles you have in life.
Even though sometimes you find things difficult (just like we all do), you can always rely on yourself to get through things in the end.
7) You’re opinionated
When I think about my friends who like doing things alone, most of them have strong opinions. But when I think about the most sociable people? Well, most of them are very agreeable!
There’s nothing wrong with either personality trait. They’re just different. Yet most of the time, if you’re heavily opinionated, you enjoy your own company more than the company of others.
Because you have strong views, values, and opinions, people don’t always agree with you. And sometimes, being around others causes more hassle than it’s worth.
But when you spend time alone, you can let your mind run wild! You don’t have to hold back on your thoughts or listen to the views of others.
Instead, you can simply enjoy thinking what you’re thinking without being judged for it.
8) You’re (sometimes) short-fused
When you enjoy your own company, you may have a bit of a short fuse around others. Other people confuse and even annoy you sometimes.
And you struggle to deal with people who are disrespectful, ignorant, or downright spiteful to others.
You might not necessarily cause a fuss or start arguments in public. But the things you witness will bother you for a long time.
And since being on your own means you’re away from other people and their quirks, it’s usually a better experience for you.
9) You’re a little unsociable
Because being on your own is such a pleasant and relaxing experience for you, you can also be a little bit unsociable sometimes.
Socializing with others is something you enjoy, especially with people you trust, care about, and feel respected by.
But you’re very selective with your time and the company you keep. Hanging out on your own gives you the freedom to be truly yourself – and you genuinely enjoy it!
You might get called unsociable sometimes when you say no to plans or decline so you can go on your own instead. But it’s just part of who you are.
And if you didn’t decline plans sometimes, you’d never get your alone time!
10) You’re sensitive
Being sensitive isn’t a bad thing. Even though (as any sensitive person will know) it’s often made out to be something awful.
When you’re sensitive, you experience the world differently. You see and feel things on a deeper level than others.
But your sensitivity can make it challenging to hang out with other people. You know you can be hurt, confused, or put out by something pretty easily.
So even though you enjoy the company of others, being alone gives you the freedom to be yourself – without the influence of others.
You can think and feel what you like – without being made to feel different, silly, or like you’re being too “sensitive”.
11) You’re accepting
Independence is often associated with people who have high emotional intelligence. So, you’re also naturally very accepting when you have independence.
If someone told you they needed some alone time, you’d completely understand.
Rarely do you ever act ignorantly about how other people are or what they feel. You’re always looking for the deeper meaning behind the things people do and say.
Because you know that you’re a deep and complex person yourself, you trust that others are, too. And they’re probably going through a lot more under the surface than you know!
Final thoughts
When you genuinely enjoy your own company, it’s hard to see why other people don’t. But everyone is different and we all have different personality traits.
The traits you have make you more likely to enjoy your own company than others. Just like how the traits of someone with extroversion might be completely different!
Either way, knowing how to enjoy time alone is a good thing. No bad can ever come from finding true peace and comfort in the person you are when you’re alone.
It can help you when you experience heartbreak, pain, loss, grief, – and pretty much anything else.
Just remember that while it’s important to continue nurturing your alone time, we’re social creatures at heart.
And even though we can do things alone, it isn’t always the best choice. Doing them with others could be rewarding in so many different ways.
