Approximately 25 lakh years ago, when humanity emerged, we humans couldn’t survive alone. Therefore, there was a necessity for interaction to stay alive, hunt animals, face challenges, and support one another. Consequently, our minds evolved to require social interaction. It’s observable that even brief periods of solitude induce a sense of restlessness, anxiety, and stress, just as we feel something in our stomach when we’re hungry, similarly, a sense of restlessness begins to emerge when we are alone. The mind does not want to be alone. It still perceives loneliness as a sign of danger, just as it was necessary for us to be part of a group in the past. Therefore, we find ourselves seeking reassurance through activities like checking our phones, sitting near others, or engaging in other tasks to convince our mind that there is no threat.
Scientists conducted an experiment, which you might have heard of, where some individuals were placed in an empty room. They were given two options: either sit idle or administer an electric shock. They were explicitly informed that touching anything in that particular location would result in an electric shock. The results may surprise you. Within 15 minutes, 67% of men and 25% of women chose to administer electric shocks to themselves instead of remaining idle.
This indicates that people cannot remain alone with themselves for even 15 minutes, opting for discomfort over solitude. Look, loneliness and solitude are two sides of the same coin. People are only familiar with one side of the coin, while the other side remains largely unknown. Those who understand other side often lead lives that diverge from the norm. So, what’s the secret that makes geniuses and successful individuals prefer solitude? The majority of successful people in the world are introverts. Nikola Tesla, Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, and other great leaders and creative minds are predominantly introverted. Take Leonardo da Vinci, considered one of the most intelligent and ingenious figures in history, who mastered various fields from painting to engineering, surgery, comedy, and philosophy. The key to such extraordinary intelligence lies in unlocking the hidden powers within oneself, and the only way to access them, the only secret, is solitude. But how?
Well, until you understand the benefits of something, why would you pursue it? I’ll reveal five profound secrets of solitude that, once understood, will make you desire solitude and shape your personality in such a way that you’ll surprise yourself.
Self-Awareness
I usually live alone in a one-bedroom apartment. But recently, I went to my village for a few days, intending to return within 7-8 days but 25 to 30 days passed without me even realizing it. It’s like when we live with someone, eat, drink, and spend time together, time just flies. But when we’re alone, time feels longer. We tend to think more about ourselves. We become more aware of our bad habits, strengths, weaknesses, and goals.
It’s necessary to be alone to know oneself, actually very necessary. And if you think you know yourself, 99% of people think the same. But hardly anyone is truly aware. People are going through life on autopilot, unaware of why they do what they do. Ask yourself if you are genuinely happy in life or if you keep distracting yourself with trivial things, trying to escape reality. Do you know your passion, or are you just following the path set by others? If you were asked to write about yourself, you wouldn’t be able to write much because you don’t know yourself that well. We spend all our time peeking into the world and other things, but we never look inside ourselves.
If you’re a school student, you wake up, go to school, come back, do homework and study, and then waste time in between, repeating the same robotic routine next day. Do you even spare 5 minutes for yourself in a whole day? Osho says that crowds turn you into a sheep, while solitude makes you truly human. In solitude, you delve into yourself. Living intentionally, with full awareness, is the key to a magical life. There’s a quote from French scientist Pascal – “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” He said this in the 1600s. Think about how important this is in the age of social media today.”
Focused Mind
As I mentioned, when I am alone and working on scripting or editing YouTube videos or thumbnails, I lose track of time completely. I can be working for two hours straight and not even realize it. The level of focus I achieve in solitude is remarkable.
During solitary work, you enter a state that is simply unattainable for most people, referred to as the flow state. This state significantly enhances the quality of your work, whether it’s your professional tasks or academic pursuits. Your five hours of work will be equivalent to another person’s twelve hours, because when you are alone, you distance yourself from all distractions that might divert your attention. You don’t operate on autopilot mode like 99% of people do. Instead, your entire focus is dedicated to a few crucial tasks that are important to you.
Creativity
Nikola Tesla, the pioneering scientist whose innovations illuminate our homes with electricity, is celebrated for more than 300 groundbreaking inventions. Proficient in nine languages, Tesla famously advised, “Be alone, that is the secret of invention; be alone, that is when ideas are born.” With a team scarcely comparable to Edison’s, Tesla crafted nearly all his inventions and concepts single-handedly.
Your mind is a goldmine, a treasure trove waiting to be explored. Within it lie the seeds of ideas and creations that could reshape your entire life. The only delay is accessing it, taking the time to dwell within oneself. In solitude, you grant your mind the freedom to roam, to delve into new thoughts. It is from these moments of isolation that great inventions and profound ideas emerge.
Just as our minds accumulate experiences and information from birth until now, some individuals leverage this wealth of knowledge to create something entirely original. They are the 1%—the creators—while the remaining 99% follow their lead as consumers. In solitude, you, too, can become a creator.
In moments like facing a new question in an exam, the power of presence of mind, critical thinking, and creativity come into play. Embracing solitude strengthens these skills. Your ability to solve problems amplifies, and you learn to tackle any challenge or question with ease.
Master Emotions
Chances are, you’ve come across advertisements for brands like Center Fresh, Royal Enfield, Mountain Dew, Maggi, 5 Star, or others. But have you ever wondered why they captivate us? It’s because these companies, whenever they advertise, seldom focus on the ingredients, specifications, or the taste of their products. Instead, their goal is to establish an emotional connection with their audience. They understand that people tend to relate strongly to emotions. In today’s world, if you can grasp people’s emotions, you can achieve a lot—money, fame, power, everything can be attained with ease. You just need to master the art of influencing emotions and to do that, you must first understand your own emotions and understanding yourself requires solitude. live alone, read, write (journal), observing things around you. And by doing so, you’ll gain insights that allow you to perceive the world and everything in it from a different perspective.
“We have completely stopped sitting with ourselves; we always try to find happiness in superficial things. No matter how much you indulge in shallow or meaningless pursuits, distracting yourself from pleasure will not bring you peace. That peace can only be found in solitude. In solitude, your mind will connect with that superpower within you, your higher self, which knows everything: what’s right for you, what’s wrong, what you should do, and what you shouldn’t. Then, you won’t depend on people or trivial things for happiness.
After spending time in solitude, every aspect of life—relationships, career, personal issues, health, happiness—will appear clearer, there won’t be any aspect of life where you won’t notice a difference. Why do ascetics choose solitude, abandoning everything? There must be a secret worth pondering.Now, when you start sitting with yourself, initially, you may feel restless, but then that restlessness will transform into peace after few days. You will experience the intoxication of solitude. If you turn loneliness into solitude, your life will transition from boring to fascinating. You’ll experience a newfound joy, a flavor never tasted before in life. If you liked this post, feel free to comment something below. You can also go through the following post, i wish you all the very post.