You’re aware of how solitude benefits your mind & soul — and plays an important role in your personal growth journey — but it’s becoming abundantly clear that the sound of silence isn’t silent at all and is in fact rather LOUD.

And that’s a problem because most of the advice you’re given involves:

• Meditation
• Journaling
• Silent retreats
• Digital detoxes

AND a whole bunch of other remedies that center around you turning the volume way down so you can better connect with your thoughts, feelings, and more.

Yet how can you do this when

1. Silence is far from silent
2. Your relationship with solitude is worse than ever

And if you need a little convincing, try sitting in a room on your own for five minutes — no phone, book, TV, journal, or anything else…

Just you. and your thoughts!

How long do you last?

How do you feel as you just sit there?

Sure, you *know* how solitude benefits you and is one of those all-important keys that open one door after another. But in today’s busy world of hustle culture, practicing this is easier said than done.

solitude benefits and our modern struggle with silence

But why? Why do we struggle with solitude so much?

In part, it’s because we humans are a social species. Sure, some of us are introverts and enjoy alone time, but even then it only takes us so far. We’re bound by one another and yearn for others to aid us in our journey ahead.

I often think of the ancient Greek tale that talks about how humans were split in two; the story which birthed the notion of a soulmate. We may like to spend time on our own, yet we need to spend time with others. If we don’t get that, well, it’s a form of torture, don’t you know?

So although solitude benefits us… we naturally fight it.

Yet in today’s busy world, our relationship with IT has become ever more complex. Because as we’ve become more connected, and as we connect with more varying versions of media and technology, the sound of silence has grown oh-so loud.

Where once we could actually hear ourselves over the backdrop of nature, now we cannot hear anything over the hum of civilization. Yet even if we do retreat to some secluded area, our own thoughts, dreams, ambitions, and version of success scream at us from within.

The thought of just sitting there and reconnecting with what’s really going on is both difficult to do—because the world’s so stimulating and literally bombards us with distraction—and hard to wrap our heads around due to the lack of practice we get. It’s just all so foreign to us, even when we do get those lonesome moments, our first thought is to fill our heads with thoughts!

… to-do lists, new ideas, worries, etc…

And that’s if we fight the temptation to turn on the TV or doom scroll on our phone.

So, all this begs the question if solitude benefits us still in today’s modern world. And, if it does, how exactly is it supposed to help on our quest toward growth…

solitude benefits 101

If we’re social animals that struggle with solitude, does solitude benefits us? Did it ever? Well, yeah… because although we may need to surround ourselves with others, we also need to ensure we’re fully connected with ourselves.

• our Thoughts
• Dreams
• Feelings
• Worries
• Passions
• Love
• Gratitude

The only person you ever truly get to know is yourself. That is the only mind you’re connected with, and even though you may get to know someone else on a deep level, you never really know what’s going on. The one person you get to know like that is YOU. Yet in today’s busy world that connects us to everything else, it makes it harder than ever to reconnect with “us”.

Our mind. our spirit. that inner voice that gets so little airtime.

This is how solitude benefits us because it allows us to switch off from everything else and, if only briefly, switch on to our self. And that’s important because if you don’t do that you’ll inevitably get caught up in all the chaos & drama of “out there”.

The Hustle.

Social media and its endless stream of comparison culture.

The media and the toxicity it offers.

Society’s bland version of success and endless pursuit of perfection.

All this burns us out. It’s too stimulating and overwhelming, and so we lean into even more in a bid to switch off and escape, and, push that inner voice further down because we know how much it has to say and it’s just too much.

So we end up numbing ourselves and going through the motions, until one day we wake up and say no more or are forced to change due to illness, burnout, et al.

This is how solitude benefits us and this is why it’s important.

We need to tap into it. More so, we need to embrace it as it’s the only way to properly reconnect with ourselves, hear that inner voice, and generate a little peace so we can understand what the hell is going on.

The question is, how do you do this in such a noisy and unrelenting world?

solitude benefits: your modern “how-to” guide

Finding solitude in this hectic world isn’t easy. In some ways, it’s nigh on impossible for most of us because we live in bustling towns and cities. To get the sort of solitude our ancestors used to access… well, it isn’t as accessible.

At least, not on a consistent basis.

And consistency is key because seeking solitude every now and then isn’t enough. 

You need to tap into this often, if only for a few minutes. 

Yet it isn’t as hopeless as you may fear because there are pockets of solitude around us at all times. And because the main aim here is to disconnect from ALL THAT OUT THERE long enough so you can reconnect to ALL THIS IN HERE… you can achieve a lot with a little.

Here are some practical steps you can take that may lead to giant strides later…

digital detox

It isn’t that social media is bad. In many ways, it’s one of the most amazing inventions our species has ever conjured up. It connects us. It gives the masses a voice. It gives us access to invaluable resources and information.

Content that would otherwise remain hidden behind gatekeepers.

But it’s also important to accept how toxic social media is. It leads us to numb ourselves. It pushes us to constantly compare who we are to those seemingly perfect individuals that fill our newsfeeds. It warps our sense of reality!

So use social media by all means… but take a stand so it doesn’t control you.

That starts with a detox. Get off it for a while: a weekend, a week, longer…

Chances are, you’re addicted to it, or at least have an unhealthy relationship with it. So get off. Take a break. Reset so you can return to it sometime soon, only this time with rules and guidelines on what you will and will not use it for. 

By taking control like this, you open yourself up to a world of lonesome thoughts and improve the relationship you have with yourself.

venture into nature

I don’t know how much “nature” you have access to, but chances are at least some surround you — a park, lake, a small piece of woodland.

Go to it. As often as you can, venture into nature so you can hear its sound.

It still offers a noisy version of silence, yet it’s a more satisfying version compared to the hum of cars, sirens, and footsteps. 

Water. birds. insects. the wind whooshing among branches…

It’s amazing what happens when you lose yourself in that. Ideally, try to escape deep into nature at least some of the time — a weekend at a lonely cabin, maybe, where you can combine it with a digital detox.

(this conversation between Ali Abdaal and Hector Hughes offers some great insights into both why you should do this and how)

But you don’t have to wait for those extended trips. Even if it’s a short walk to break up your day, if you can do it in some form of nature, embrace it.

The more you step into that natural world, the easier you’ll find it to settle into silence and enjoy the benefits of solitude.

make your first-hour count (introducing the “power hour”)

The final step you can take, and arguably the most effective—at least the one you can take the greatest control over—is to make your morning count! This isn’t about waking up early, either. Whether you stir at 4am… 5am… 9am… it doesn’t really matter. All that does is that you make your first-hour count.

Take control of it. Treasure it. Reserve it for YOU and to recharge your batteries. Step into each day with some solitude and allow your inner self to lead the way.

You can implement other positive habits to align with this: meditation, journaling, a walk, affirmations, yoga, etc… But none of that really matters. All that does is that you reserve this time to slow it alllll the way down and ease yourself into the day.

Whatever time you may wake up.

This is one of the easiest and most powerful ways to grasp the benefits of solitude. You’re still far from awake during this first hour, and although some people wake up ready to take on the day, many of us need time to ease in.

Yet even if you do wake ready and raring, do you really want to reserve this special time for client work, email, social media, and the like? or would you better serve your world by using this time to get clear on what you feel, how you desire to feel, and what the day ahead has in store for you?

solitude benefits of the future…

This world we live in… it’s insane, my frayed-at-the-edges friend.

There’s so much to do. So much you could do. So much stimulation, choice, expectation, and everything else that comes with modern society.

We get less access to silence than ever before — and when we do get to enjoy some, the sound of silence is louder than ever and harder to simply “sit with”.

So, we get antsy. We distance ourselves. We keep ourselves busy.

Further into the hustle we go, and the worse this whole experience gets.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. You cannot control much in this world, but you do get to control how you start your day. Even if you cannot commit to a full hour, ten or fifteen minutes can make all the difference. 

Reclaim it! 

Take back control of those early moments and compliment this with walks in nature and the occasional digital detox. None of this offers an overnight miracle cure, but bit-by-bit the sound of silence will begin to hush and you can start to reap the rewards that solitude benefits your mind, body, spirit & so much more.

hi, i’m turndog and I wrote this article … i am a writer, ghostwriter, anti-hustler & a guy on a mission to ensure you too escape the hustle — come be part of the [no hustle] movement

hi, i’m turndog and I wrote this article … i am a writer, ghostwriter, anti-hustler & a guy on a mission to ensure you too escape the hustle — come be part of the [no hustle] movement