Should I stay alone?

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I'm 45 now. I retired a year ago, and don't need to work anymore and it's not necessary for me to ever be around people. I'm single, never married, no kids. When I was younger, my dream was to retire and become a hermit and never interact with other people. I'm pretty much doing that, I just stay at home and only do things like once a week.

I can't decide if this is what I want or not anymore.

It seems like it's not good for me to just hang around at home and be alone, but I have to really push myself to want to be around people. Should I just give up at this point and go with my instincts, or keep trying to change myself?

Neither. If you need more interaction, go out more. If you need to retreat, retreat for awhile.

You don't need to try to change yourself and also don't need to treat it as an either or.

If you find you feel undersocialized, socialize more. It isn't trying to change yourself to acknowledge you have needs. It also doesn't need to be permanent, you can alter how much you socialize depending on your needs.

I agree with what you have said here funeralxempire.

I would also add to this by suggesting that the OP seek activities or groups around interests if he is feeling isolated.

It wasn't until I found groups of like minded people that I realized that I didn't hate everyone. A bonus of meeting people in the context of a group or club is that you already share common interests. I find that it's easier to make conversation (and hopefully eventually friends), if there is a shared interest as a foundation to the relationship.

There's nothing wrong with being at home all the time. I do that too and I like it.
However, I bought a home gym because the body needs movement.

Unfortunately I have to buy groceries 2 to 3 times a week and I hate it. Screaming kids and parents who don't care.
I'm always totally exhausted when I get home.

I think it's a good choice to stay in the environment you've created yourself with the things you like

Dear Sminthian, Welcome to Wrong Planet. And being on your own is/ can be a good thing. It does provide much independance of action. But part of the human experience ,most likely is to have spent some time around other humans
in whatever context ? Book Club, language classes. going out for a cup of coffee . And the periodic grocery shopping?
Not necessary things but definitely a part of growth . If you only have your own insights to go on. or are completely insular ,without ,real life interactions . Sometimes it could hard on your ability for personal growth .But also have found that as I have aged , and had my fair share of human interaction. Am not as interested in those associations as I once might have considered.

I've been able to adjust my shopping times to avoid the crowds.
Monday and Tuesday mornings are typically pretty quiet.

On paper your life sounds great to me but I always need some social interaction to keep my social brain satisfied. Low key low stakes interaction like pancakes or something. Online works well too as a complement (not substitute). And a good chunk of "alone" at times. Find the balance that works for you, you probably wouldn't have asked this question if you didn't instinctively feel something was missing...

I can go months without significant social interaction. So much so that I've had friends check up on me to see if I'm OK. I have a somewhat constant Facebook presence so they don't get worried.