The Most Important Skill Nobody Taught You

Our rejection of solitude is really an aversion to boredom. It's not that we are addicted to a TV because it is satisfying, but we're addicted to the state of not being bored. We can't imagine just being rather than doing. It makes us search for entertainment or company. We fear facing ourselves.

The only way to avoid being ruined by this fear is to face it. When you cross the initial barrier of solitude, you find that being alone isn't so bad. You become intimately familiar with your environment and discover novelty in things you didn't know were novel.

Without realizing the value of solitude, we are overlooking the fact that, once the fear of boredom is faced, it can actually provide its own stimulation. 

The only way to face it is to make time, whether every day or every week, to just sit — with our thoughts, our feelings, with a moment of stillness. Without knowing ourselves, it’s almost impossible to find a healthy way to interact with the world around us.