How to Enjoy Your Own Company

While Gen Z individuals might find it difficult– if not impossible– to even consider the thought of being alone, you CAN enjoy your own company. This article is especially for you if you are currently low on your social energy. 

I do know from experience that there are times when keeping up with those never-ending messages on WhatsApp or Snapchat can be a drag, and scrolling down Instagram doesn’t give you as much satisfaction as it used to. 

In that case, it could be that your body is giving you clear signs that you might need to retreat and embark on a self-discovery journey to not only figure out the reason for your social apathy but also to begin to enjoy being in your own company.

Sometimes, the only love you need is self-love.

Now, is it weird to just sit back on your couch with a cup of hot chocolate in your hands, while reading a novel with ocean sounds playing quietly in the background? No. There is nothing weird about enjoying your personal space alone, and in this article, we are going to be looking at seven ways to enjoy your own company.

How to Enjoy Your Own Company

1. Treat Yourself To a Nice Meal, Alone.

When it comes to self-care, nothing beats enjoying a good, warm meal. Interestingly enough, for most people, food is their love language. 

Instead of waiting for that guy to ask you out to dinner, or your girl gang to have a ‘girls night out’, or the boys to have ‘game night’, why don’t you pick your phone and make a reservation for yourself at that restaurant you’ve been eyeing for a while?

Better still, you could try out that new recipe you saw the other day on Food Network. Not only will you get to enjoy good food, but you’ll also spend more time being attuned with yourself. And honestly, nothing beats that feeling of self-satisfaction when you try out something new and accomplish it. It’s a three in one package, dear.

2. Set a Goal to Accomplish The Next Day Before You go to Bed Each Night.

The pressure to “become” is stronger now more than ever. These days I’m too scared to even look at some people’s LinkedIn profiles because they make me feel like I have done absolutely nothing with my life. 

While you might slowly find yourself getting choked under the pressure to accomplish your goals for the year, you need to remember that “Rome was not built in a day.” 

You might have made new year resolutions to become a professional copywriter with a fully functional Upwork account or a junior staff member in a leading tech company, but these things don’t happen at once. They take time. Process.

Instead of trying to do everything at once and breaking down mentally or emotionally in the process, take easy steps. Set one goal for one day and see to it. You’ll realize that by the end of a month, you would have accomplished about thirty solid things that you can hold on to.

3. Engage in an Activity You Love.

This is a sure way to enjoy your own company. Engaging in activities you love will not only keep you busy, but you’ll also derive contentment and happiness because you are not being forced to do it.

If you are a lover of anime, manga, or light novels, hundreds of amazing content are released every day for you to kick back and enjoy. Nothing beats watching anime with your curtains down while munching on your favourite snack or cookies. Nothing, I tell you.

If you are a lover of novels, and you’ve been eyeing a particular Dan Brown novel or Harlequin novel (if you are a sucker for romance novels like me!). Don’t just walk past the bookshop again and sigh. Go in, pick that novel and dig into it ferociously.

You owe yourself that downtime.

If you are bothered about your eyes or reading for long affects your eyes, you could opt for an audiobook or try listening to podcasts. Podcasts are always refreshing and enlightening.

When you engage in activities you love, you won’t even realize that you are alone, because you’ll be too busy enjoying your own company.

4. Spend Time in Nature and Exercise

Remember when I mentioned good food as the best self-care? The second best self-care you can give yourself is exercise. Followed closely by meditating while spending time in nature.

Exercising not only puts you in shape physically but also mentally. This is why some people plunge into working out after a break-up to help them move on. (And it works most of the time.)

When you work out, your body gets better shaped. When this happens, you begin to love your body more, and this, in turn, makes you want to spend more time with yourself, doing what you love. You want to go shopping so you can wear those new dresses you didn’t have the guts to try on before because you didn’t quite “have the body for it.” 

You want to take pictures in them and make videos because you love how you look. Subconsciously, you are already spending time with yourself and enjoying it completely. And don’t let me get started on the nature bonding aspect.

Whether it’s sitting by the river bank or digging your feet into the beach sand, or just lying face-up on the grass, even cloud watching and stargazing, spending time with nature has a way of making you realize just how awesome being alive is. Meditating on that has a way of making you feel more alive than ever, and being more conscious about your existence.

5. Read a Book or Listen to a Podcast on a Subject You Know Nothing About

There is a type of focus that you have when you hear or read something completely foreign to you. You want to make sure you get every detail in and in the process, you become more aware of yourself.

By gaining knowledge on a completely foreign subject, you boost your self-esteem and become more proud of yourself because you have gotten a little smarter.

Self-confidence is a trait many millennials lack today. They are so out of tune with themselves that they lose sight of who they really are– how strong or talented or reliable they are. By increasing their well of knowledge, they become more confident in themselves. 

6. Close Those Tabs!

Your phone has a magical way of keeping your eyes and hands so occupied that you don’t even know when you’ve spent three hours watching videos on Tiktok. Time flies so much when you’re using your phone that by the time you’re done, you sometimes begin to feel displeased with yourself for not accomplishing something with all that time.

It gets worse when you stumble on “successful” people in their “high” lives and you begin to compare yourself with them. You feel inadequate, insecure, and even dissatisfied. All of these are negative energy for you.

Instead of surrounding yourself with all that and keeping up with people’s fake or staged lives? Why not actually do some real living by doing fun activities offline? 

Close those tabs and pick up that book. Learn to ride a bike, how to “address” a system, how to cook, and a host of other stuff that you did not know how to do before.

7. Stay Grateful

When you spend your time meditating on all your small wins and less time comparing yourself to the con artists all over the internet, you’ll realize that you are actually living life.

Practicing gratitude has a way of keeping the body, soul and spirit positive. Positivity affects much more than your mental and emotional health. It also affects your physical health. Studies have shown over time that happier people tend to be healthier and live longer, unlike people that are constantly depressed.

Choose joy!

When you make it a habit to count your blessings, you will realize you have come a long way and you will appreciate yourself more. This will, in turn, help you to enjoy your company even more.

Stay grateful.

I know that it is usually easier said than done. It is much easier to say you want to do something and plan towards it than to actually implement it. However, when there is a will, there will more than often, be a way. 

So, choosing to stay alone doesn’t mean you are lonely and it surely doesn’t mean you are pathetic.

Being at peace and enjoying your own company, is a strength that many wish to have. It shows how sound you are mentally and emotionally.

All images are sourced from unsplash.com