Being alone is nobody’s idea of fun; everyone desires to be loved, to belong, to be helped, and to collaborate with other people. This is true of introverts and extroverts, of young people and old people. In fact, solitary confinement is one of the worst punishments in the world. I’m not talking about that kind of loneliness here, but about professional or work-related loneliness.
There is loneliness when you feel like nobody sees or shares your vision, nobody comes along side to help. You feel like you are pulling or pushing the vision forward all by yourself. Family, coworkers, friends, managers – you name it, nobody is there to cheer you on.
When this happens, it’s important to realize that the people not supporting you are not bad people, they just don’t see it. As humans we are very focused on what we want and how we want it to happen. The disciples of Jesus, for example, could not believe that he would be crucified even when he told them literally what would happen – they had a different vision. That’s why changing people by talking and telling is not effective – you need to show, you need to lead with success and people will follow.
In the meantime, however, you will be lonely. Embrace the suck, embrace the loneliness, embrace the pain as a tax you must pay for reaching your goal or your vision. Do not let the pain and the loneliness detract you from your purpose.
It is important however to stress that you should always pursue whatever is noble, pure, beautiful, lovely and whatever amplifies and improves live. These things we generally call good. Pursue these with all your energy, even if you are a bit odd, quirky or misunderstood. One other thing, the means are important too, not just the ends. You can do things differently, and you can even be wired, odd, or awkward, but do no evil or do no harm. Choose peaceful protest over burning people’s cars and property to get your point across.
This one is a tough one to swallow, but greatness is achieved through pain and often pain suffered alone. Think of olive oil and how it is produced – the olives are crushed as they are pressed, and that is how they give their delightful liquid. I hope this is encouragement to those who feel alone. Do the right thing, pursue good ends, by good means, find like-minded people and pursue it together. Do not be afraid if you are misunderstood. Instead bring out your uniqueness and make the world a better place.
