Why Isolation Can Be A Good Thing (part 2)

“Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we’re supposed to be and embracing who we are.“

-Brene Brown

In part one of Why Isolation Can Be A Good Thing I talked about some of the benefits of isolation and why having alone-time is so important for your personal growth and development – mentally and spiritually. The more you grow mentally and spiritually, the more free you become emotionally; free from doubt, guilt, insecurities, judgement, and a whole host of other low-vibrational thoughts and thought patterns.

In order to live your best life, you will need to let go of all the “stuff” that’s weighing you down. You can’t fly high with a weight around your ankle. All of the “stuff” you’ve been carrying around for so long is weighing you down. Emotional weight gain can sometimes even lead to physical weight gain. As within so without. 

How we feel on the inside is reflected on the outside, in some shape, form, or fashion. Some stuff we’ve been carrying around so long we don’t even realize it’s there. When you start to rid yourself of your “stuff”, little by little that weight around your ankle starts to get lighter. But how do you get rid of your “stuff”?

The Purge

Getting rid of your “stuff” is where you’re going to have to put in some work. One of the most frightening things for a lot of people is being alone with themselves. This is frightening because it forces them to face themselves, to face those things they’ve been hiding or running away from. That can be downright terrifying. I think one of the reasons that can be so terrifying is because we know we might find something that makes us “fall short” of familial or societal expectations. That would mean that we were a failure. And nobody wants to feel like a failure. The failure itself isn’t really what makes us feel bad though, it’s the embarrassment of failing. But the thing is, failure is the only way you learn. So, failure is not bad – it’s necessary. Once your perspective on failure changes, how you see your flaws and shortcomings changes.

“Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker. Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead end.“

– Denis Waitley

Finding Self-acceptance

When you can learn to accept all of the things about yourself that you don’t like, then you will find that it really doesn’t matter what  “they” think; because YOU are your biggest and best fan.

While you have all of this time on your hands, spend some of it really getting to know yourself and figuring out what makes you truly happy and what brings you peace. Identify those things about yourself that you don’t like and ask yourself “WHY?” Do you not like those things because someone else told you that you shouldn’t? Did someone else make you feel bad about those things? Or do you not like them simply because YOU do not like them? Once you figure out why you don’t like those things about yourself then you can go about finding a solution and change what it is you don’t like. 

Discovery & Recognition

Anything that is a result of someone else’s opinions or judgments is not your truth. Your truth is not built on other people’s opinions. It is built upon your opinion of yourself. Feeling bad about yourself, feeling inadequate or insecure because of someone else’s opinion of you, is that dead weight around your ankles. You can’t fly with that. If what you don’t like about yourself stems from your own thoughts and feelings, then you have to figure out which things can be changed and make a plan to change them; if it can’t be changed, then make a plan to find a way to accept it and be the best you that you can be, in spite of it. That’s not an easy task, but it can be done if you’re willing to put in the work and face yourself. 

Facing that person you find can be like meeting a stranger for the very first time. You may not recognize who you find, but you will definitely feel different. Each time you uncover a new part of yourself, you’re freeing yourself more and more. And with that freedom comes peace. When you have found peace with and within yourself, happiness is a natural by-product. The more you get to know and love yourself, the more happiness you will feel and the more happiness you will have to share. 

Let’s get lifted!

V.

How has isolation helped you on your journey of self-discovey? Comment below…