Alone with my thoughts

In the world today there are so many distractions, and we have a well-equipped distraction box at all times in our pockets called our smartphones with no shortage of material to keep us distracted and entertained. This has made it such that we rarely find ourselves alone with our thoughts anymore, we are never alone with just ourselves. Anytime you feel like you are alone, you just turn on the Internet, and suddenly you are surrounded by a crowd, there is now so much to do and pretty much an unlimited sea of information to take in.

When was the last time it was just you by yourself?

I know we are social creatures who thrive by socializing with others, but there always comes a time when you have to face yourself, when all the noise can’t drown your inner thoughts. When you have to become accountable to your conscience, we spend our lives pushing that moment as far as we can, but it eventually comes around, even if it's just on our dying bed. All the noise in society serves to hide our inner self, the inner critic and pretty much who we are really. The best we do is try to emulate what we see others doing and adopting the definition of self we get from others.

Facing your thoughts

I can’t speak for everybody when it comes to the thoughts we have. As for me, when I face my thoughts, I am reminded that there is a right and there is a wrong. I am reminded of my flaws and the mistakes I did. Most importantly, I am reminded of who I want and ought to be, where I went wrong.

Maybe I put on a few kilos I shouldn’t have, or I acted inappropriately in a specific scenario, all that comes rushing back when am faced with my thoughts. For others, I am guessing it might be their obsessions which dominates their thoughts, the worries they have, the goals they are pursuing or even still the dreams they wish for. They might not even give a second thought to who they are beyond their aspirations, with much of their lives just being about accomplishing their goals. Get rich, become famous, receive praise.

In a similar pattern, others might be scared of facing their thoughts because their lives are ridden with flaws. Every time they are left all alone with their thoughts, they are reminded of what they could have been and how what they are is worthless; such persons strive the hardest to run away from their thoughts.

I am not judging whether one way or the other is the right way to think, what matters the most is being comfortable being alone with your thoughts. You can’t run away from yourself, neither can you run away from your own mind. The more we try to drown our own minds into the multiple distraction of the modern world, the worse the problem gets with us losing our identity slowly.

All alone

For the average person, they never think there will be a point where they will be alone in their lives and left with their thoughts. We are from families and the goal is to build other families, so we aren’t really that concerned about being alone, if not for just a short while. However, once the noises from the children is gone, your partner is absent, you are left with your thoughts. For some people, that's very uncomfortable, it's a moment they dread with all their being especially when they aren’t where they want to be and even for those who are their thoughts are clouded by their goals and ambitions.

Conclusion

Through all of this, I am reminded about a very interesting quote

We tend to focus so much on our achievements to the point we forget or neglect what we become at the end, a shadow of our former self.

____________________________________________

Thanks for reading 😊