Even if your home is a work in progress right now, it is your own, and you are totally in charge of it.
You’re able to mould it precisely the way you imagine. Living alone and working towards it successfully can help you become more attuned to your space. With busy lives, it can be hard to appreciate our surroundings. When it comes to living alone, you can really grow to appreciate your living space – your home and, thus, your personal space. Knowing who we really are, being content with that person, and having confidence in our own values and boundaries ultimately improves our wellbeing, but also the way we also present ourselves to people around us. Or being able to spot what triggers negative feelings and (most importantly) what you can do to counteract them. This might be the simple act of being comfortable in your own company. Living alone gives you the opportunity to explore your true self and develop a sense of being comfortable in your own skin. Thinking, feeling and truly living alone is much more about embracing this life and being fully immersed in it, allowing you to be completely present in mind and body. But, those of us living alone by choice or who have grown to enjoy living alone are likely to recognise this reason more readily. Sometimes, discussing the benefits of solo living can be lighthearted – the reason for the list of small joys mentioned in point 1 of our list. Still, there is something rather empowering about making decisions about your lifestyle and choosing the direction you want your life to go in without too much influence from others.
This does not necessarily mean that those who chose to live with another person are in any less control than us solo livers. We’ve explored this in a previous article asking whether or not a single life is a phase or a lifestyle choice for you. There is a view living alone means you’re automatically missing out on something – a connection with another person or being able to share difficult decisions with someone else. When it comes to what you do, who you socialise with and when you choose to do the things you are passionate about – all of this and more is under your control, for you to make decisions upon without judgement, compromise, or justification. Being in control when living alone means you get to make all the big decisions that directly affect your destiny. 2 You are in controlīroadly similar to the first point, we’re talking here about more profound things rather than choosing whether or not you eat pasta in your pants or drink milk from the carton. We’re here to remind you, self-care is not selfish, and together, hopefully, we can shift the perspective that being able to use time as you wish is positive and not something that you should hide away. It’s easy to see why those of us with the power to do what we want when we want (to a degree) don’t shout about the fact we can put ourselves at the top of the list. It is often the case that many people who live solo feel a little guilty about being able to do so, at a time when often someone’s self-worth is dictated by how many plates they’re spinning and indeed their lack of time. With the ability to please yourself comes the opportunity to prioritise your own self-care. There is nothing wrong in doing so, and underestimating the joy to be gained from simple pleasures is a no, no!
Of course, this isn’t an exclusive list, but you get the gist, which is – you can pretty much please yourself. Things like having control of the remote, walking around naked, eating cereal whenever you want and doing the hoovering at 10 pm – all fall under this broad category of the solo living experience. Often, what’s described here is listed separately, but we have banded them together as one. If you’re living alone for the first time or seasoned in living solo and in need of a confidence boost or even if you’re living alone, loving it and like to be reminded (well, why not?!), here are 10 reasons why living alone can be good for you. From developing a stronger sense of independence to living a life completely on your own terms, solo life has something to offer everyone. For the uninitiated, it can take some getting used to but living alone can be one of the most liberating experiences life has to offer.