Fundamentals: Why Being A "Lone Wolf" Is Stupid

Life is rough. Life without assistance is ruthless. You can’t do it alone. Don’t try. Being a “lone wolf” is moronic. A support network is necessary. Personally. Professionally. Across fields, life’s domains, and individual or team aims. Mentors. Friends. Family. Help groups. Alliances. Clubs. Whoever it is, it has to be somebody. Somebody to back you, guide you, educate you, challenge you, and assist you.

We Even Have Social Hormones

Humans are social beings. Not that long ago, being alone spelled out a death sentence. Our bodies are frail. Muscles weak. Ears and eyes don’t stand out in their hearing and vision. Evolution shaped us to cooperate, not to operate. To find friends and do it together. Hunting, cooking, dancing, music… Things you and I know and love developed only because humanity survives and thrives in groups.

Social networks aren’t merely important. No. They are foundational to living. Always have been. Always will be. Tribes worked together for protection and resource-sharing. Exclusion was death. Inclusion was life. Hence you’re hardwired for belongingness and fear rejection. The brain blows a load of happy chemicals—oxytocin, dopamine, serotonin—into your system during moments of social connection. These hormones work against stress—the opposite happens in loneliness. Oxytocin, for instance, is released during bonding activities—hugging, kissing, sharing experiences—hence it’s known as the “relationship” or “couple” hormone.

Less Stress, More Progress

Social networks encompass everything. Close personal connections. Professional relationships. Community groups. Casual acquaintances. They are embedded in every aspect of modern existence. To grasp their importance for your future, why not explore the benefits of having and downsides of missing them in your life? Friends go beyond fun. Family transcends tradition and passing on the seed. See for yourself.

Social ties help you process things. Life’s challenges. The rollercoaster we all live. When we have others to confide in, we’re better able to buffer stress. It’s as if the brain knows that if something goes wrong we can call him or her and figure it out. Like a semi-conscious awareness that we won’t be left on our own, helpless, hopeless, drowning in the abyss. Oh, and this is legit. Biological. Your body churns out less of the stress hormone cortisol when you’re met with stressful situations but have supportive relationships. No psychological poo-poo.

Emotional Catharsis

But that’s not all. Talking through problems with trusted friends or family provides relief and insight. Having somebody to go to to iron things out is indispensable. The words, they show. The emotions, they blow. The thoughts, they flow. Expression is crucial to smooth out misunderstandings and stress. You walk away reassured that, perhaps the world isn’t coming to an end. Perhaps everything will be okay, and you’ll be able to tackle the challenge. And with encouragement, validation, and help, you will.

Even that Abraham Maslow guy who loved his pyramids, he agrees. The renowned psychologist’s hierarchy of needs features belongingness as fundamental. Right after basic physiological needs. Behind only food, shelter, clothing, and survival. Feeling connected—belonging—validates your place in society. Being part of something larger. That’s what life is all about. Contrast it to loneliness. It’s linked to various mental impairments. Fatigue. Stress. Anxiety. Even depression and suicidal ideation. But be careful. Fitting in and belonging aren’t equals.

Only Gets Better

It rains. It pours. Those emotions, they need to go. And they do, when you have somebody to fall back on. Social networks better your emotional regulation. Substantially. Sharing experiences, positive and negative, allows you to chew on emotions and cope healthily. You might receive suggestions on how they would handle it or have in the past. You might not, but mere expression will ease some of the pain and you could discover the answer.

Safe relationships are also sanctuaries for vulnerability. Trust. Being you. Showing the gaps in your armor. Accepting your weaknesses. Regular interaction is a window into others’ feelings and perspectives. Crucial for the socialization of kids and teenagers. Critical for the preservation of social skills, self-worth, and empathy for adults. It, well, simply feels good to know that someone out there will take you with open arms at your weakest, darkest, worst moments.

That’s quite a bit—stress, emotional expression, insight, belonging, vulnerability—but it’s merely the psychological side of things. Consider the economical and/or career benefits. Coming up.

Value, Value, Value…

A well-established network can furnish tangible resources during emergencies. When plans don’t go as planned. Life pulls funny moves. Things like housing or temporary financial aid. Maybe that organic, ultra-environment-friendly candle business doesn’t work out or you don’t have enough to get it off the ground. Or, perhaps you have an interesting family and your parents threw you out the house with a suitcase on your 18th birthday. Stuff happens. When it happens, you’ll want friends, relatives, partners… you’ll want support.

Essential for career growth is a phenomenon called social capital. It’s nothing complicated. Ad litteram “the value derived from relationships.” A strong network facilitates recommendations, mentorship, and insider know-how. You get a sneak peek into things. You get introduced to people, by people, for people. You get suggested as a professional. These things all multiply career trajectories and possibilities. And the entrepreneurs can expect funding, partnerships, or customer acquisition opportunities. Employer or employee, networking is huge.

Bad Gets Better

The aforementioned is doubly important for individuals born into disadvantaged socioeconomic statuses. A diverse network for you means the difference between climbing the ladder and not. Exposure to more people inherently translates to access to higher socioeconomic circles and the opportunities and worldviews present there. Plus, support networks can host mutual aid initiatives. Rotating savings groups. Cooperative business. Crowdfunding. Success doesn’t occur in isolation. Teams amplify individuals. The more, the merrier.

These don’t have to be close friends. Weak ties might even be beneficial, acting as bridges to new information beyond your social circle. Mentors can guide career choices, offer advice, and connect you to influential others. As new ideas, cultures, and ways of thinking infiltrate your mind, you diversify your perspective. How’s superior creativity and problem-solving? I’m not done. Exchanging knowledge and ideas enables you to gain and give skills and insights you may have not encountered otherwise. Collaboration often sparks breakthroughs. It’s why we brainstorm in teams and conduct interdisciplinary research. Finally, if you have really good peers or mentors, you’ll be enforced to confront weaknesses and develop yourself as a person. Priceless.

“Lone Wolf” Critique

So, if it isn’t yet clear, the “lone wolf” approach is ill-advised. Loneliness sucks. Chronically, it ramps up your odds of depression, anxiety, and dementia. It’s a vicious cycle. You don’t hang out with many people. People move away. You think nobody wants to hang out. Self-esteem plummets. Withdrawal subsists. You hang out with even less people. And it continues. Until you’ve dropped everyone. Then you feel lonely, have nobody to contact during times of difficulty, and fatigue. Work gets hard. Creativity disappears. Burnout. The accumulation of tiredness, psychological and physiological wear, and nobody to show a tear give birth to the black dog. Depression.

“Lone wolves” strip themselves. They lack emotional and practical resources. Bouncing back from failure is harder, sometimes impossible. Setbacks are tougher to process. Without support, you spin your wheels and stagnate. You don’t get far. The isolation weakens you. Less perspective, more bias. Lack of external feedback, abundance of internal critique. An echo chamber. Your thoughts? Unchallenged. Your personal growth? Inhibited, limited to what you and you only achieve. Your perceptions? Skewed. Collaboration is crucial to learn, to exchange ideas, to help and be helped.

People Don’t Bite

In simple terms, if you don’t want your mental health, economical status, career, and brain to decline, start speaking to people. Cultivate relationships in various domains—personal, professional, and community. Go for meaningful over superficial, quality over quantity. Be ready to invest: building trust and reciprocity takes time and effort. Listen attentively. Offer support. Maintain communication. Consider finding yourself a mentor for guidance, peer groups for support. Use platforms: LinkedIn, Facebook, community meetups, Instagram, organizations, clubs, or hobby groups. Make relationships an ongoing endeavor.

Final Words Of Wisdom

In sum, social networks are vital for holistic success—psychologically, economically, profesionally, all the -ally. They make you resilient. They provide career and entrepreneurial opportunity. They even better your health for God’s sake. Find some friends. "The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love,” said Morrie Schwartz, “and to let it come in.”