If I told you that regularly spending some time by yourself away from your significant other can be good for your relationship and overall well being, would you believe me? We live in a world that puts a great premium in connectivity even when such connectivity comes in plastic impersonal ways such as social media.
People have been persuaded that taking time off to attend to their own needs by themselves is undesirable. The truth is that spending some time alone, even when you have a spouse, can be tremendously beneficial to your relationship and your wellbeing as a person.
Ultimately, you are responsible for your own happiness. You are the only person who knows what you deeply desire and you are the only person who can dependably take concrete actions to realize those desires. Having some time alone now and then can be very good for you. Here are some of the reasons why.
You Are Responsible for Your Wellbeing
At any one time, you are the only person in the world who fully knows how you feel and the pressures you are going through. If you want to feel better, have a better relationship with yourself, deal with some of the sorrows in your life, or even celebrate the small wins you collect over the course of your life, you are the only person who you can fully depend on to follow through.
Since you are responsible for your own happiness and no one is coming to the rescue, it goes without saying that a little selfishness with your time is warranted. The average person gives most of their time in service of others from employers to customers to family members, spending a few hours by yourself to take care of your own needs is totally warranted.
You Can Develop New Hobbies and Interests
The easiest way to sustain joy in your life is to be always growing and to have a sense of accomplishment regularly. Taking on new challenges and interests ensures that you always have an area in your life that you are measurably growing in and the improvements you make serve as new milestones to be celebrated.
Not even your spouse is interested in your life so much that they can join you for every interest and hobby you pursue over the course of your life. You should be open to going it alone when the circumstances call for it. Moreover, improving as a person by learning new interests and hobbies will make you a more fun person to be around. It will actually be good for your relationship.
A Chance to Define Your Purpose and Goals
Besides the goals you have as a couple, you should also have individual goals that are unique to you as a person. It goes without saying that these goals are better defined when you are alone. Spending some time in solitude allows you to reflect deeply and develop a more comprehensive roadmap for the destination you want to drive your life to.
If you have a healthy relationship with your spouse, they will be supportive of the goals you choose to pursue as a person. You should also be supportive of the goals they choose to go after.
Free up Time to Travel
One of the excuses married people give for not travelling often is that it is hard to find time in the calendar where their schedules allow them to get away together. While this is a reasonable explanation for not traveling as much as you want, the truth is that you don’t have to travel as a couple every time you hit the road.
Couples can embrace solo travel. Being open to traveling alone will open a world of opportunities to see the world and satisfy your wanderlust. If it’s been long since you traveled alone and you have reservations about the whole idea, you can take a low-risk trip to a resort for couples that will pretty much organize everything you need for your trip to be a success.
Be Comfortable in Your Own Skin
Part of developing a great personality is being comfortable in your own skin and getting to know yourself better. You will be amazed at how much confident you get when you actually know your strong points and work to accentuate them as you limit the amount of negative focus you direct at your weak areas.
By spending time alone, you are able to learn more about yourself. This includes things you may have never discovered had you not taken some time for yourself. A lot of life changing insights can come to you in moments of self-reflection and solitude.
Spending some time alone also reinforces to your mind that, when push comes to shove, you actually have the capacity to make it by yourself. Don’t ever let a relationship make you think otherwise. This is great for your own self-esteem as you are the only person you can fully depend on to show up for you 100 percent of the time.
