Why You should Read?
I personally was never a fan of book reading and the thought of going through them other than my academics was alien to me. The only way book reading use to happen was when my English teacher would ask me to read aloud few lines of the text book in the class and that to because he wanted to give everyone a chance to read by going around bench wise and that was not less than a nightmare for me being a shy, introvert and timid kid .
It was in my college when I finally borrowed one fictional novel to eventually start with , but this was not out of any interest or inclination it was mainly because of FOMO (Fear of missing out) a novel that I really would never recommend anyone now but yes one thing it did help me overcome was the presumption syndrome, wherein I always considered reading an act of boredom in comparison to watching a movie, gossiping with my friends, going out for a spree or window shopping.
After coming across on and off with various fictional romantic novels it was not before when I seriously got to read one of the best work till date, it moved me inside out and that is when I realised that reading not only can be interesting but also life changing. *The name of that book can be referred to in my concluding paragraph. In 2023 I have completed 6 books mainly in self-help genres , its a big number for someone who as never imagined themselves as a reader and now my 2024 target is to complete 10 out of which 4 are below and rest will decide later. If anyone has any recommendations please feel free to share in the comments section.
- Awaken The Giant Within — Anthony Robbins
- Shoe Dog — Phil Knight
- Atomic Habits -James Clear
- Ikigai — Francesc Miralles
Reading for me has not only helped broaden my perception but also has interrupted my thinking patterns which I never took seriously our dwelled upon. Recently I read that your vocabulary decides your success and failure i.e how you see life or define it , is it like Life is a game, war, race , competition for you than every time any challenge comes your way than along with it the thought of failure will creep in and create so much fear in your mind that you will hardly give 100% to the task and eventually fail or pass through it getting miserable ,which will make you depressed and in future one would find a way to avoid such situations where winning and loosing will be a deciding factor in determining your worth and quality of life. Immediately after getting to know this entirely new outlook I, decided to give a new definition to my LIFE and the most satisfying and empowering one for me was “ Life is a blessing” and believe me every time any unexpected result comes my way this thought helps me have peace with it very easily, in the start it was not easy but let me tell you the thought of Life being a competition was way more painful and had never yielded any positive result for me also a constant fear of failure kept lingering .
Every successful person in history and present have reading as an habit in one or the form , it’s fair to say that its a vital tool in the journey but here quality plays an important role, in this era of information that we are bombarded with left , right and centre its crucial that you chose to devote your time on the right matter that will help you grow and bring you close to the goals you have set for yourself. The questions that should be asked before selecting one are below:
- Why do you I want to read this book?
- How is it going to add value to my life?
- Is it worth my time and money?
- Is it about the area of my interest or taste ?
- Should I go for recommended, bestsellers or reviewed ones?
One may have a completely different way of picking their first ones as given above but should never dismiss reading all together just because they are indecisive , because its a habit that will help you long way as it has been found to relieve stress, improve communication, boosts your imagination and visualisation, enhancing emotional intelligence, building vocabulary and developing prolonged focus and helping go into FLO state, in the era of instant gratification books help you become more patient and resist the temptation of instant pleasure.
For me reading has helped in seeing life beyond a set perspective or an old one , I am on my way of changing my negative thought patterns and replacing them with new and hopefully will succeed someday . You should try it too.
*The book that changed my life : The Man’s search for meaning — Viktor Frankl
