Adults Overthink It. This 8-Year-Old Got It Instantly.
Adults spend thousands of dollars trying to figure out how to "unplug" and "set boundaries." We download meditation apps. We buy expensive noise-canceling headphones. We read endless self-help books.
Meanwhile, an eight-year-old girl just mastered both concepts in under two minutes.
When I created the concept of alonespace, I knew exactly why the world needed it. I built it because our lives are too loud, our schedules are too full, and our minds are constantly crowded, and we need more simplicity in an overly complicated world.
At a recent wellness event at the Lake Norman Fitness Specialists Grand Opening Celebration, I got a front-row seat to the stark reality between how adults process wellness versus how kids do.
Throughout the day, as adults would come up to the table, they would immediately start overcomplicating things. They talked about how it would be so great to do that but they expressed a lingering sense of guilt about the mere *idea* of stepping away from their families or responsibilities. Or they would ask, “but what do I do while I am in there”. I would explain to them you do nothing but get back to yourself. They would ask if they can bring laptops and phones. Certainly you can, but that’s not the concept. We all need a digital detox. Let everything go for 30 minutes and just BE.
And then, an eight-year-old girl walked up.
She walked up to the table, looked at me and simply asked, “Can you tell me what this is? I told her it was a room where she could go and be all by herself. Without skipping a beat, she looked at me completely straight-faced and said: “I would like to book that room because my sister is annoying." It was the purest and most uncomplicated understanding of the power of alone time.
She got it. Right from the very beginning.
While the adults at the event were doing mental gymnastics around whether they "deserved" a break, this little girl cut straight through the noise. Her logic was beautifully pure: You can love your family, and still need a break from them. It’s ok. It’s more than ok, it’s actually healthy.
No TV? No Problem.
After she said she wanted to book the space, she asked if there was a TV in the room. I said no, there isn’t a TV in there and again, she looked straight at me without hesitation and said, “That's ok, I can bring my books."
Think about the contrast there. Adults pay for digital detox seminars, download apps to lock themselves out of their phones, and struggle to sit in silence for ten minutes. This eight-year-old transitioned from digital entertainment to quiet, analog comfort in a split second. She didn't need flashing lights or background noise to exist in a space; she just wanted her imagination, maybe a book and a quiet space all to herself.
Adults Have to Unlearn the Noise
This interaction absolutely validated why I built alonespace. It’s that simple.
Children have an innate understanding of self-care. They know when they are overstimulated, they know when they need a break, and they don't overthink the solution. Somewhere between childhood and adulthood, we lose that clarity. We convince ourselves that wellness has to be a complicated, 10-step commercialized routine.
It doesn’t.
Alonespace is a simple form of wellness. It’s a permission slip to temporarily step away from the world. Children get it, it's time for the rest of us to unlearn the complications, leave the screens behind, and finally book the room to take the time for yourself.
Alone time isn’t selfish, it’s essential.
Deanna
