Not all of us know how to be happy without any external support. This article covers all those happiness secrets that you need to spend a content life – both alone and with people.

How To Be Happy Alone?

Since we humans are seen as social animals, it is easier to see why we are always in search of companionship. We want friends at the workplace, family members at home, and relatives at events to be on our side and share our experiences with. We need our people to cheer for us when we win at life and reassure us of our abilities when we lose at things. On most days, our happiness seems like it is incomplete without our friends with us and others, we secretly want them to check up on us over a phone call.

Undoubtedly, this longing for companionship and togetherness is naturally rooted in our nature. However, experts believe that, at some stages in our lives, it is important to have all our time to ourselves with no external shoulder to help us tolerate our loneliness. It is in times like these that a human should, and must, learn the art of staying satisfied and appreciate the alone times without feeling dejected about the lack of companionship.

But, why is there a need to learn to be happy alone?

If you look around, the need to stay happy and satisfied even in your lonely days has been intensified more than ever before. Thanks to the pandemic, many of us who have never spent a weekend alone indoors have been passing weeks, and even months, without meeting a friend or hugging a family member.

Times like these make it easier to understand why experts have been telling us to practice gratitude and learn how to be happy in life even without any loved one by our side. However, things are always easier said than done and the same goes for ensuring your inner satisfaction despite loneliness and boredom.

Many of us have great control of our emotions but still do not know how to be happy alone and celebrate our life without any clapping hands. While it is okay if you have never tried being happy in your loneliest hours, it is in no way okay to continue like this for the rest of your worldly time.

Today, we are covering everything you should know on how to be happy when you are all by yourself. Here’s to hoping this article teaches you much on the kind of gratitude that you have never practiced before.

So, let us dive right in:

What Differentiates Being Alone From Being Lonely?

Before we tell you anything about how to stay happy alone, it is important to tell you the difference between loneliness – something that is often confused with being lonely.

‘Loneliness’ is a sad expression in so many ways. The very mention of this word makes a person think of aspects like lack of support, lack of companionship, being disliked and avoided, having no happiness in life, and others. Hence, when people are asked not to depend their happiness on an external factor, they ask if it is even possible to be happy with no external involvement in their lives.

Let us answer this question right here: Yes, it is absolutely possible to be happy by being all alone by yourself. This can happen when you know the difference between loneliness and being alone.

Being alone does not at all mean that you do not have friends or family members to connect to. It is just that they live in a place where you cannot easily reach out to them in a physical sense. You might have a very different routine than those people and hence, it is possible that you cannot call them during certain hours of the despite wanting to do so. However, the fact that you and your friends cannot meet regularly, and you are all alone in a different city does not mean they do not think of you.

Another reason behind you being alone could be your personality type. You’re probably an introvert who does not like meeting people every day, regardless of how much you like them. In this case, you can make your friends understand your anti-social phases and they would let you be all by yourself without disliking you or developing remorse for you. This is also in no way equal to being lonely.

Then what does it mean to be lonely?

Well, loneliness is simply when you cannot relate to anyone on an emotional level and does not feel like they have any connection to you. This is when your lack of connection makes you empty and makes it hard for you to be happy.

Tips On How To Be Happy

In case of being alone, whatever the reasons are, you can easily go on with your life just by knowing these amazing tips on how to be happy. Read on and you will see how:

1. Stop Comparing Yourself To Others

For many, the benchmark of being happy is to achieve what others have and this is where things go wrong. When finding an answer to how to be happy, never ask for tips on how to make yourself happy like a specific person who, in your eyes, is the luckiest person on the planet.

Comparisons are fatal and can make you more disturbed than before. You cannot have what another person has and hence, it is futile to focus on their blessings.

It is fine if your neighbor is always having house parties and go out every night with friends. You do not have to have their friends’ circle to be happy. Always remember that you can never tell if a person with a bunch of friends is as satisfied with his relations as you are!

2. Have Social Media Detox

When people are alone, they spend most of their day scrolling through their social media platforms. The idea behind doing this is that our virtual connections can help us cope up with the feeling of loneliness.

Well, that is not the right way to deal with being alone. You might see how everyone is having parties and hanging out with their friends and this can get you depressed. While trying to learn how to be happy alone, you need to stay away from all those triggers that remind you of your loneliness.

Instead of spending time on your phone and watching the superficial lives of others, take out the time to connect with yourself and have a conversation with your conscience. You’d yourself see how cool that is!

3. Spend Time With Nature

One of the best tips you’d ever get on how to be happy would be to allow yourself some alone time with nature. As William Wordsworth would like to say, nature is the greatest of human friends and would never betray a heart that loves it.

So, the next time you start missing your people who are miles away from you, get those sneakers on and go out for a long walk in the woods. You can also spend an hour or two by the riverside, enjoying the scenic beauty and giving yourself a chance to feel the breath of fresh air cleansing you from inside.

Natural surroundings like trees, sounds of birds, wide sky, and fresh air – altogether have unprecedented healing powers that you can never experience unless you try to connect with all these things in all honesty.

How to make yourself happy.

Also, when you are out spending your time in nature, do not forget to switch off your phone and give your mind a break from all the thoughts that have been poisoning it for days. It might seem hard but trust us when we say that it is all worth it in the end.

4. Let Your Mind Wander Aimlessly

Here is an amazing alternative for days you cannot go out and connect with nature. Instead of connecting with something that is outside, connect with your inner self by disconnecting with everything that is going around you.

Did not have a good day at work? Missing your family but cannot tell them? Missing homecooked food? Have a stressful zoom meeting coming ahead? Forget about all of it for just 5-10 minutes and let your mind lose itself where it wants to.

This simple practice of ignoring everything, no matter how stressful and important it is, just for a few minutes each day can bring about significant long-term changes to your mood and health.

Here is how you can let your mind wander:

• Force yourself to stop thinking about everything that is on your to-do list
• Draw the curtains and light a scented candle (or just get your room ready however you find it the best)
• Set your phone to silent mode and turn off all the media devices in your home
• Pause all the podcasts and books that you have been listening to or reading
• Set a 5-7 minute timer and sit or lay down in the most comfortable position with your eyes closed and take deep breaths while you do absolutely nothing

Sometimes, people do not really like being this sedentary and feel like it gives them anxiety. Well, in that case, instead of laying down, you can carry out a task like washing dishes, knitting, drawing, or anything that you feel is done in a sort of pattern and does not require you to think too much.

5. Make Time For Small Things That Make You Happy

Doing little things that make us happy is the best way to enhance your overall mood despite being all alone and annoyed with boredom. Depending on the kind of person you are and what do you enjoy doing the most in your spare time, these little things can mean different tasks or experiences to you.

Among the most common small things that make people happy, some of the most cathartic ones are as follows:

• Going out for small evening walks
• Dancing in rain
• Gardening
• Knitting
• Taking tea of coffee on the balcony
• Running
• Sitting in a park
• Reading books
• Journaling
• Netflix bingeing
• Listening to music
• Watching sunsets or sunrises
• Talking to your pets
• Cleaning

Sometimes, we are too busy living the mundane routine that we do not know anything about the little things that make us happy. If that is your case too, you need to put in some labor and find what makes you happy the most without costing you anything except a few free minutes from your day.

It can be anything and it does not matter how boring or lame it might sound to others. You just have to stick to it and you would yourself see how this seemingly insignificant thing brings about positivity in your life.

6. Work Out And Get Active

If you are working from home and have a home-bound routine for whatever reason, you should never ignore the importance of physical activity. Always make sure that you get yourself moving after an hour or two of being lazy and sitting on a couch.

Physical activity is important to get those endorphins pumping that can make you feel better on the days you are not in a good state of mind. If you are not in a habit of working out, just start with 5 minutes of simplest body activity each day but stay consistent. Over time, things would become easier, and you would automatically start feeling your day empty without any physical work done.

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Conclusion

This was all we knew on how to be happy alone. Other than these, you can try rewarding yourself on small achievements, list down whatever you are happy for, take breaks from work and travel, get creative with things, and can also start learning a skill that you have always wanted to learn.

These things initially require effort when you are making them a part of your routine. However, with time and patience, everything starts becoming better and you can start experiencing amazing results too.

All the best in your efforts towards being happy and now that you are here, do not forget to share ideas on how to be happy with your friends too.

Thank you for reading. Though this article is for informational purposes I hope you found some useful information. Please leave a comment.

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