Some people feel guilty when they are alone, some don’t like being alone and some think being alone is the same as being lonely. But being alone is good and necessary for our personal growth and development.

“I used to think that the worst thing in life was to end up all alone. It’s not. The worst thing in life is ending up with people who make you feel all alone.” – Robin Williams

1. BEING ALONE CLEARS THE MIND.

There is a lot of chatter in our lives. The media, our colleagues, our friends, and our family all contribute to how we form our opinions by expressing theirs. When we take the time to be alone, we can clear our minds of all the noise and allow our inner voice to become clear.

2. BEING ALONE FOSTERS CREATIVITY.

Creativity happens when our mind is free to explore and wander. When we are alone, there aren’t competing thoughts and agendas, which allows our mind the freedom to take a journey based on true inspiration.

3. BEING ALONE BUILDS CONFIDENCE.

Confidence is hard to build with so many outside influences. Being alone is good and it allows us to develop our authentic voice based on our values. This voice becomes stronger and steadfast when we are firmly planted in what matters most to us, not those around us.

Gain More confidence in Your Work

4. BEING ALONE IS GOOD AS IT DIMINISHES STRESS AND ANXIETY.

Stress and anxiety occur because of outside expectations. The importance of those expectations become less urgent if we can put some perspective on them, and what happens when we spend time alone.

5. BEING ALONE ESTABLISHES PRIORITIES.

It’s important that we continually assess what’s important to us. The best way to get to know ourselves and what matters most is to spend time alone. Without the competing priorities of everyone around us, we can get real with ourselves and true passions.

This is an example post, originally published as part of Blogging University. Enroll in one of our ten programs, and start your blog right.

You’re going to publish a post today. Don’t worry about how your blog looks. Don’t worry if you haven’t given it a name yet, or you’re feeling overwhelmed. Just click the “New Post” button, and tell us why you’re here.

Why do this?

• Because it gives new readers context. What are you about? Why should they read your blog?
• Because it will help you focus you own ideas about your blog and what you’d like to do with it.

The post can be short or long, a personal intro to your life or a bloggy mission statement, a manifesto for the future or a simple outline of your the types of things you hope to publish.

To help you get started, here are a few questions:

• Why are you blogging publicly, rather than keeping a personal journal?
• What topics do you think you’ll write about?
• Who would you love to connect with via your blog?
• If you blog successfully throughout the next year, what would you hope to have accomplished?

You’re not locked into any of this; one of the wonderful things about blogs is how they constantly evolve as we learn, grow, and interact with one another — but it’s good to know where and why you started, and articulating your goals may just give you a few other post ideas.

Can’t think how to get started? Just write the first thing that pops into your head. Anne Lamott, author of a book on writing we love, says that you need to give yourself permission to write a “crappy first draft”. Anne makes a great point — just start writing, and worry about editing it later.

When you’re ready to publish, give your post three to five tags that describe your blog’s focus — writing, photography, fiction, parenting, food, cars, movies, sports, whatever. These tags will help others who care about your topics find you in the Reader. Make sure one of the tags is “zerotohero,” so other new bloggers can find you, too.