What I learned from solitary confinement….

Most people don’t fail because they lack talent or opportunity. They fail because their energy is constantly bleeding outward. Endless socializing, entertainment, noise, and stimulation scatter attention until nothing has enough depth to grow. Pleasure isn’t the enemy…but when life becomes a nonstop pursuit of “having a good time,” the nervous system never settles, and scattered energy cannot produce mastery, meaning, or peace. This isn’t a moral issue; it’s mechanical. Attention follows stimulation. Energy follows attention. When everything is directed outward, nothing accumulates inward. And without accumulation, nothing transforms.

Real progress, whether spiritual, creative, or material, requires two things modern life quietly discourages: discipline and the ability to be alone. Solitude gathers energy. Discipline gives it direction. Together, they form a container strong enough for something real to be built. Every meaningful practice understands this: mastery is forged in repetition, silence, and staying when it’s uncomfortable. People who cannot be alone aren’t avoiding loneliness…they’re avoiding themselves. But only in stillness does attention deepen, structure form, and the scattered self begin to cohere. Nothing of substance is built in crowds. Fruit grows where energy is contained.