Living alone can be a transformative experience to handcraft your own life.
At first, it might sound a little intriguing and intimidating. The mere thought of doing everything on your own can be overwhelming. But as time passes, you come to love the tranquility of solitude.
As Robin Sharma, the author of the book, The 5 AM Club said,
“Tranquility is the New Luxury”
Slowly, you learn to enjoy the quietness of your surroundings. You discover new things about yourself, start valuing your thoughts, build intimacy with yourself, and your creativity soars in isolation.
Even some of the world’s greatest artists and personalities have followed the path of solitude.
Pablo Picasso, the most prolific painter and sculptor of the 20th century, used to spend countless hours alone to find inspiration for his art.
Arthur Schopenhauer a German philosopher once said,
“A man can be himself only so long as he is alone, and if he does not love solitude, he will not love freedom, for it is only when he is alone that he is really free”
But living alone comes with its own set of challenges. When you come home from a long day at work, you have to drag your tired self to make dinner and letter wash dishes. When your faucet breaks down, you wonder if you can fix it.
Spending most of your time away from the outside world, you start to socially withdraw. At some point, your mind can become a vessel of loneliness, but it also becomes the source of your strength and a wellspring of productivity.
Finding mindful rituals or trying uplifting solo activities can help you become more comfortable with being alone. The simple yet impactful practices help you build a sanctuary where you can heal and enhance your solo-loving experience.
21 Warming and Uplifting Rituals to Try When You Are Living Alone
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1. Move Your Body, Free Your Mind
Maintaining a fit body and a healthy mind is essential for leading a well-balanced life, but it matters much more when you are living alone.
Your physical and mental wellness affects your mood and energy level as well, therefore try to regularly engage in any form of fitness routine. When we do any form of exercise or move around, our brain releases chemicals that contribute to our happiness and pleasure.
These chemicals act like an emotional shield that can help you handle strong emotions, which can be important when you are going through depression or any other mental issues.
So, whether through yoga, power walks, dancing, or any sports, let the movement be a form of expression and release.
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2. Comfort with Mindful Reflection
Introspecting your thoughts and emotions is the core of untangling your mental web.
When no one is around you, and you are swamped by catastrophic thinking, drawback inward. Spend time reflecting and journaling your thoughts to reach the root of the source of your feelings. And rather than painting them with the broad brush of negativity, shed them in a positive light.
Learn to become your own council and find your way out of any difficulty.
3. Romanticize Simple Moments
Romanticizing moments is an act of finding joy in our daily mundane chores and simple in-between moments.
Between our daily tasks, we let ourselves stew in worry and trouble over our finances, work pressure, and strained relationships. But we forget life is not all about achievements and goals. It can also be found in the smallest of moments.
From a warm and cozy blanket to just watching a lustrous starry night, find joy in the simplicity of life by shifting your focus from outward worries and distractions to inner peace.
4. Enjoy Your Own Vibe
“GOOD VIBES ONLY” is the motto for every solo dweller now.
Vibing alone is the best way to overcome any unpleasant feelings in a sustainable way, without relying on anyone or anything. If you are someone who is easily influenced by social media and outside energy that easily messes with your self-esteem, build a filter in your life to keep any dejected feelings at bay.
Learn to find joy alone and enjoy your own company. It can be any solo activity as long as it feels good, whether you are cooking batches of cookies, rearranging your closet, rocking your messy bun in the gym, or just binge-watching Netflix in bed, whatever that fills your cup.
5. Take on a Challenge
Driving into creative expression and looking for challenges is always the right call rather than whining with a lonesome vibe.
When you have whole space to yourself, you can let your creative side run wild without judgment and limitation.
Creating an outlet to express yourself through taking on random dares like joining a dance class, cold plunging, or doing a crash course in any of your interests contributes to your growth as well as stimulating your mind and expanding your horizons while living alone.
6. Meditate to Set the Tone
Meditation is a tool that can serve every single group of individuals. Its calming and stress-relieving effects can help you clear up your negative thoughts and give you the strength to deal with them. Whenever any unpleasant feelings show up, you can always turn to meditation to ground and set your mood and intentions.
There are different forms of meditation that you can explore, such as mindful meditation, spiritual meditation, and movement meditation, or you can subscribe to guided meditation classes to pick up your spirit and improve your mental well-being.
Image Credit to Noemi Jimenez on Unsplash
7. Write Yourself a Love Letter
Loving and supporting yourself a little extra, especially on your bad days, is all the cheering you need to come out of any hard periods.
You also need your own time and attention as well. Try to extend the love that you express to your loved ones to yourself as well. Write a heartfelt letter to yourself that would give you strength and help you recognize your self-worth.
8. Go Grocery Shopping
I know few people have a love-hate relationship with grocery shopping, but even so, it can be the most therapeutic way to uplift your spirit when all you can think is gloomy.
The grocery market is always stocked with rows of shelves dedicated to your favorite treat and seasonal fav. Aisles filled with vibrant and varied fruits and veggies create comforting surroundings for the soul-seeker, who can spend hours searching through produce and ingredients that might fit their mood and feel for their meals.
9. Light up Your Space
Sitting in the dark and digging into the reasons for their current mishap is every loner’s favorite way to kill time.
But settling down in a dingy room does nothing more than darken your mood further.
Lighting up your space with the soothing glow of candles or lamps reflects that bright glow in your core and thoughts as well. During the daytime, you can open up your blinds and curtains to let the sunlight in, or you can go to any bright place that is beaming with brilliance and positivity to cheer yourself up.
10. Buy Yourself Gifts
Living alone can evoke feelings of discontentment and disconnection. Often you might feel abandoned and being left at your own devices.
At such times giving yourself gifts and arranging surprises is the most gratifying form of self-love you can have. Showing yourself with gifts, sharing appreciation for any small milestone you have achieved, or buying flowers on your way back to work when you feel dejected can uplift and encourage you to look forward to creating more joyful events.
Image Credit to Brooke Cagle on Unsplash
11. Play with Your Pets
As the amount of one-person households is increasing, the number of people adopting pets is also increasing. Pets are not only a living replacement for stuffed toys but a constant companion in your solo living journey as well.
Dogs and cats can contribute to your mental wellness in many ways. Taking them out for a walk can increase your physical activity and social interaction. Playing and cuddling up to them improves your mood hormone and prevents any depression solitude can create.
12. Cook Yourself a Comforting Food
Food and your mood have already been scientifically proven pair to affect your mental health. But there isn’t any concern in the world that can’t be addressed by having your favorite comforting food.
A bowl full of warm and hearty meals can console and nourish you from the inside out. But the joy of the process of making yourself a meal and at last savoring the fruit of your hard work also adds extra depth to your contentment as well.
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13. Spring Clean
Okay, this one isn’t just random.
Living alone comes with all the other headaches and home chores responsibilities as well. Although one might say daily chores are the least favorite tasks of all, when you feel lonely and depressed, a quick dust down can actually make you feel better.
Tidying up your space doesn’t only keep your house clean and organized. It reduces visual clutter and bring down your cortisol levels when you are stressed.
14. Count Your Blessings
When the feeling of loneliness engulfs you, you might find it hard to notice any blessings in your life. However, cultivating the mindset of abundance and appreciating the simplest things can promote self-contentment and fulfillment even when living alone.
So next time you find yourself drawing in desperation, write down every good thing that is present in your life and the things you will never change for anything. This will help you find closure, and end your day on a positive note.
15. Self -Spa Day
Living alone and handling all the work yourself can become exhausting at some point. Allow yourself to embrace the opportunity to decompress all the stress by indulging in self-care.
The relaxing ambiance of a spa does wander on your mental health. You can let go of all your thoughts and worries there and just enjoy the tranquil serenity that descends on you.
16. Go on Shopping Spree
Shopping must be one of those guilty pleasures many women secretly adore. Although it might have dangerous consequences on your budget, the pleasure you feel is always rewarding. As this uplifting solo activities can serve as a mental therapy to let go of all the negative thoughts and lift your spirit within.
Image Credit to Kelsey Chance on Unsplash
17. Host a Party
We humans are social creatures, and staying alone for too long can make us feel isolated and depressed.
Spending a day with people you have a personal attachment to can help you reconnect back to yourself. Calling over your friends or family for dinner or having a chill-out day with them can also foster a stable and nurturing relationship with them.
18. Bask in Morning Sun
Mornings can be glorious. The bright and golden rays of the sun not only warm up your house but also your inner frigidity as well.
Rising with the tranquility of down, and spending time in the sun releases the serotonin hormone that helps to boost your mood, and reduces the effect of seasonal affective disorders. Also, it helps in proper melatonin secretion at night, so you have an improved sleep cycle, which further keeps your mental health well.
19. Tend to Your Plant Babies
Having plants inside or outside your home comes close to resembling a connection to nature. Plants purify your space of any toxicity and cultivate a green oasis that breathes life into your house.
Tending to them forges a closer feeling to nature, which works well to calm your dreary thoughts of loneliness, and in turn, lifts your spirit as well.
20. Freshen up Your Home
When nothing seems to work to lift your low spirit, occupy your thoughts with things that shift your worries and give you the prospect to channel out any negativity.
Like revamping your apartment or taking over any redecorating tasks to make your home a reflection of your mindset. When you keep your mind occupied with any pursuits of interest, it tips you towards a healthier and fulfilled frame of mind, which also turns out to be a pleasant experience for you.
21. Connect with Kindred Spirits
Your connection with your friends, family, and others around you nurtures a meaningful connection. Reaching out to someone with whom you bear a supportive connection and sharing your concerns and feelings can help to loosen the hold of any unrequired emotions.
Elevate Your Solo Living Experience
Living alone offers a unique lens, through which we can understand and like ourselves more. But it doesn’t have to be a reason for a lonely existence, rather it can become a journey to self-ownership, a fulfilling and enriched experience.
By incorporating uplifting solo activities in your daily rituals, you can fill your cup and create a positive environment for yourself, so you can thrive in solitude and nurture your mental and emotional well-being.
