Loneliness Quotes - 41 Sayings About Being Alone, Isolation And Time For Yourself

Are you looking for exciting loneliness quotes and inspirational sayings about being alone? Then you've come to the right place! When someone is lonely and alone, most of us quite rightly feel very sorry for them. After all, lonely people, loners and lone wolves miss out on many valuable experiences that come from communicating with other people. Permanent social distancing also causes psychological stress, which increases the likelihood of serious illness.

But of course, being alone is not a bad thing per se. For example, you can decide freely and spontaneously what to do. It is also easier to focus and concentrate on certain goals and ideas - not least, it is much easier to make peace with yourself or with certain trains of thought when you are alone.

In this article, I would like to give you the most valuable quotes about loneliness, isolation and being alone as personal inspiration. Let's go!

My please: Keep in mind that many of the quotes about loneliness have been translated into English from other languages. I cannot guarantee that it is the original quote in each case. Therefore, double check them and feel free to leave a corrective comment. If you like and share any of the quotes in the internet, please link this elaborately created collection. Thank you for your support!

41 quotes about being alone, loneliness, isolation and seclusion

Personally, I quite like being alone because it makes it easier for me to allow new ideas and trains of thought to develop. The peace and quiet and switching off also play a role. But I also enjoy being in the company of my family and friends just as much. They make me laugh, take my mind off things - and give me support in difficult times.

So for me, it's a voluntary decision as to when I want to be alone for a certain amount of time and when I don't. However, we must not forget that there are many people who are permanently and involuntarily on their own.

Some people would like to be on their own more often - but permanent solitude is anything but wishful thinking. With the following quotes, wisdom and sayings, I provide you with a combination of both states.

Loneliness quotes 1 - 10

1. "Having to be alone is the hardest, being able to be alone is the most beautiful thing." (Hans Krailsheimer)
2. "When it's really dark around me, I have my best visits." (Friedrich Schiller)
3. "There is such a great fire in one's soul, and yet nobody ever comes to warm themselves there, and passersby see nothing but a little smoke coming from the top of the chimney, and go on their way." (Vincent van Gogh)
4. "That’s love: Two lonely persons keep each other safe and touch each other and talk to each other." (Rainer Maria Rilke)
5. "I never said, 'I want to be alone.' I only said 'I want to be let alone!' There is all the difference." (Greta Garbo)
6. "All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone." (Blaise Pascal)
7. "If you are alone you belong entirely to yourself." (Leonardo da Vinci)
8. "A man can be himself only so long as he is alone; and if he does not love solitude, he will not love freedom; for it is only when he is alone that he is really free." (Arthur Schopenhauer)
9. "For though solitude may be the nurse of great spirits, it is the torment of small ones." (Samuel Smiles)
10. "Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier." (Mother Teresa)

Tip: I have compiled a large list of Questions to get to know put together. Use them for more intensive conversations with your friends and acquaintances.

Loneliness quotes 11 - 20

11. "Everyone will concede that man is a social being. We see it in his aversion to loneliness as well as his desire for companionship beyond the confines of his family." (Charles Darwin)
12. "Loneliness is the familiar way to deal with yourself." (Robert Schumann)
13. "I lived in that solitude which is painful in youth, but delicious in maturity." (Albert Einstein)
14. "Feeling solely responsible for his actions and bearing their consequences alone, even the most serious ones, is what defines personality." (Ricarda Huch)
15. "If you're lonely when you're alone, you're in bad company." (Jean-Paul Sartre)
16. "I used to think that the worst thing in life was to end up all alone. It’s not. The worst thing in life is ending up with people who make you feel alone." (Robin Williams)
17. "I want to be with those who know secret things or else alone." (Rainer Maria Rilke)
18. "It is sometimes a good way of ensuring the solitude you need, of concentrating more or less on whatever study you are immersed in." (Vincent van Gogh)
19. "Be good and you will be lonesome." (Mark Twain)
20. "We must take the soul back and withdraw it into itself; that is the real solitude, which may be enjoyed in the midst of cities and the courts of kings; but it is best enjoyed alone." (Michel de Montaigne)

Loneliness quotes 21 - 30

21. "It is sad to be an exception. But not to be one is even sadder." (Peter Altenberg)
22. "Solitude is independence." (Hermann Hesse)
23. "The soul that sees beauty may sometimes walk alone." (Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe)
24. "Help me to help myself." (Maria Montessori)
25. "I have begun to be a friend to myself. That was indeed a great benefit; such a person can never be alone. You may be sure that such a man is a friend to all mankind." (Lucius Annaeus Seneca)
26. "Anyone who has a cat may not be afraid of loneliness." (Daniel Defoe)
27. "Be alone, that is the secret of invention; be alone, that is when ideas are born." (Nikola Tesla)
28. "Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty." (Mother Teresa)
29. "Only in being alone can we find ourselves. Being alone is not loneliness it is the greatest adventure." (Hermann Hesse)
30. "It's terrible that our only choice is between marriage and loneliness." (Novalis)

Tip: Do you prefer to go on vacation alone or with your partner and friends? I've tried both and have written you a detailed article about the Advantages of traveling alone as well as via the Advantages of traveling together as a couple written. Have a look!

Loneliness Quotes 31 - 40

31. "It’s easy to stand in the crowd but it takes courage to stand alone." (Mahatma Gandhi)
32. "Solitude is fine but you need someone to tell that solitude is fine." (Honoré de Balzac)
33. "Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty." (Mother Teresa)
34. "Experience is not inherited, everyone has to do it alone." (Kurt Tucholsky)
35. "Solitude, seclusion from people, external calm around me and internal occupation are the only state in which I still thrive." (Friedrich von Schiller)
36. "The more powerful and original a mind, the more it will incline towards the religion of solitude." (Aldous Huxley)
37. "Friendship needs no words - it is solitude, free from the fear of loneliness." (Dag Hammarskjöld)
38. "In solitude, they will learn that saying 'No' does not always show a lack of generosity and that saying ‘Yes’ is not always a virtue." (Paulo Coelho)
39. "Whosoever is delighted in solitude, is either a wild beast or a god." (Aristotle)
40. "While you experience joy together, you are on your own in suffering." (Robert Merle)
41. "Solitude vivifies; isolation kills." (Joseph Roux)

Can you think of any other sayings about loneliness and being alone that I haven't included here? Then let us know your suggestions in the comments!

Use sayings about being alone and loneliness as a personal source of inspiration!

Die meisten Menschen verbinden Einsamkeit mit Traurigkeit, Depression und Verlassenheit – und setzen sie mit Ausgrenzung und sozialer Isolation gleich. Doch Abgeschiedenheit und die Zeit für sich selbst, kann genauso gut auch eine bereichernde Erfahrung sein. Die Voraussetzung dafür? Dass dieser Zustand nicht von Dauer ist. 

I hope that I have been able to give you some valuable and inspiring quotes about loneliness and being alone. Do you have any questions, tips or other interesting sayings? Then I look forward to your comment!

Stay yourself,

PS.: "I alone can't change anything anyway" - Have you heard this saying before? In the linked article, I explain why it's absolute nonsense, especially when it comes to sustainability and environmental protection.

References:
₁ A. Kupferberg: Psychische Folgen der sozialen Distanzierung (as at: 06.04.2020), available at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/psychische-folgen-der-sozialen-distanzierung-kupferberg. [11.08.2022].