What we do better without other people around: the power of being alone

[applegrove]

The power of lonely
What we do better without other people around
By Leon Neyfakh
March 6, 2011

http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ideas/articles/2011/03/06/the_power_of_lonely/?page=full


".................SNIP


But an emerging body of research is suggesting that spending time alone, if done right, can be good for us — that certain tasks and thought processes are best carried out without anyone else around, and that even the most socially motivated among us should regularly be taking time to ourselves if we want to have fully developed personalities, and be capable of focus and creative thinking. There is even research to suggest that blocking off enough alone time is an important component of a well-functioning social life — that if we want to get the most out of the time we spend with people, we should make sure we’re spending enough of it away from them. Just as regular exercise and healthy eating make our minds and bodies work better, solitude experts say, so can being alone.


.................SNIP"

[texanwitch]

1. I agree.

I do like company but being alone is also great.

A person needs time to think.

[applegrove]

2. I had a twin so I didn't get any time alone until I was three. And I remember being

absolutely thrilled to get my own bedroom at that age. I've loved being alone ever since.

[snappyturtle]

5. I, too, have a twin. I never got any time alone for 18 yrs. When I

went to college I had a roommate for 4 yrs. and married a month after graduation. It wasn't until I divorced, after 25 years of marriage, THAT I FINALLY HAD TIME ALONE. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND ALONE TIME.

[applegrove]

6. Wow. Glad you finally got some.

[snappyturtle]

8. ME TOO! nt

[themadstork]

3. Ralph Waldo Emerson concurs the shit out of that OP

[ChazInAz]

7. Emerson, indeed.

But I think Thoreau wrote the book on alone time. And did it without Emerson's somewhat condescending tone.

[themadstork]

9. HT learned it all from RWE. And. . . condescending?

Of all the things to be said about E's tone, any possible condescension would be pretty low on my list of stuff to address. Dude was a genius of tone.

[arcane1]

4. Ah, vindication :)

:)

[auntsue]

10. Without alone time I would spontaneously combust -

it It would be ugly. I grew up in a big family - love alone time.

[deutsey]

11. Another contemporary study that states what some have known for centuries

Oh well, at least it's being said... :thumbsup: