How Being Comfortable When Alone Makes me a Better Husband, Father, Friend and Employee
Embracing loneliness and solitude for improved relationships
There’s a lot to be said for being happy in your own company.
If you’re contented in isolation and can function successfully in daily life without being propped up or surrounded by others, it feels good. When you have others around you, that feels like an added bonus rather than an essential of life.
Company becomes the icing on the cake rather than a necessity for existence.
I’m a father of four, a husband, an actively participating member of team at work, and a guy with an averagely-sized circle of friends. It just so happens that I also spend large periods of my daily life quite alone, by choice, and I love it.
I fill all these roles to the best of my abilities and invest myself in strengthening and nurturing each of those relationships.
Crucially though, I don’t rely on them to provide support or comfort over and above what I can provide for myself. I don’t lean on them. I don’t depend on them in order to feel a sense of certainty.
I love my family and appreciate my friends and co-workers, but I don’t need to be around them all the time in…
