Many young people stress about getting a girlfriend or a boyfriend, or not having enough friends. Society wants you to believe that you have to be popular to succeed. If you spend too much time by yourself, you are labeled as a loser or weird.

The truth is, the time spent by yourself is some of the most valuable time that you can ever experience.

It feels good to be around other people, and being social can be a great thing.  The best memories are made when you are around the people that you love.

There are, however, many reasons why alone time is very important. Here are a few:

1. Finding yourself

It is said that you are the average of the five people that you spend the most time with. There is a lot of truth to this statement. When you are always around other people, you start to conform to their ways.

In order to discover who you truly are, you need to spend time alone. During these times, you have no one to impress but yourself. You can try new things without people judging you.

What do you enjoy doing most when no one is around? The answer to this question should tell you a lot.

2. Time to Do What You Love

Several of the most popular hobbies are best done alone. The most obvious example is reading. It is hard to focus when other people are around, so alone time is a welcomed treasure for avid readers.

Maybe you prefer to experiment or build something. When you are alone and your mind is perfectly challenged by a task, you can slip into a flow state. Have you ever been working on something and noticed that the hours just seemed to melt away? This is a flow state, and most people would agree that it is a great feeling to experience.

3. Learning

In school and at work, you are forced to learn about subjects that someone else thinks you should learn about. If you are lucky, you enjoy these subjects. If not, learning may become torture for you.

When you are alone, you can learn about anything that you want. If you enjoy world history, there are countless books and documentaries that you can watch. If you enjoy business, you can spend your alone time starting a small business online.

4. Personal Reflection

When you are busy or around other people, you often forget to take time to truly think. You get caught up in the flow of things and, in a way, you are acting on autopilot.

Taking time to reflect is an important part of successful people’s lives. Look at the decisions that you made. What went right? What went wrong? What would you do differently next time? Are you being the best person that you can be? Where can you improve?

Learning to engage in critical personal reflection will let you answer these questions for yourself. If you are honest with yourself when you reflect, you will end up a much better person as a result, and success will follow.

So, remember:

If you are spending a lot of time alone, you can learn to cherish it. Boredom is a luxury, and you should be taking full advantage of it by bettering yourself and doing what you love.