In an effort to better myself I committed myself to a year long journey of reading more. I like reading and don’t get me wrong I read a lot of blog posts, AD magazine (thanks to my husband), and WSJ (thanks to my father-in-law) but a year ago I found I was rarely reading through a whole book! I had gotten into a slump after college of making time for the wrong things like GOT binges and online shopping black holes. I no longer HAD to read for tests or research so why bother. But a the start of 2018, I turned a new leaf. It was time to start focusing on edifying myself. I picked up a book for the first time in a long time and began the quest of self betterment through reading.
Months passed and I was doing a pretty good job of reading with a good mix of fiction, biography, and non-fiction though not nearly reading as much as some of my friends and family. Whats funny about reading is once you start doing consistently you start to really love it. A little bit like running, at first its hard especially if your like me and get antsy at the thought of not doing something with my hands or accomplishing a task. But reading for the sake of reading has become a sweet joy to me.
Transform how you view reading:
I read an article last month entitled, “The Simple Truth Behind Reading 200 Books a Year” by Charles Chu and I have to say, it transformed the way I viewed reading. Rather than seeing it as a separate entity from normal day or as a way to unwind I began to see it the same way I used to see social media. (ie. a filler, a way to distract). Charles Chu shares that to read 200 books a year it will take the reader on average 417 hours to complete which seems crazy, but he goes on to state that the average person spends 700+ hours on social media and over 2000 hours watching TV! This startling fact makes 200 books a year look like a breeze!
Ways we’ve changed our habits:
My husband and I stopped watching TV on the weeknights, I’ve added lots book reading apps on my phone and removed social media from my home page. I listen to books in the car instead of music. I feel happier, healthier, and feel my brain is growing!
If you want to start reading more to grow your mind and better yourself, My encouragement is to start somewhere. Pick up a small book, remove your social media apps from you phone for awhile and turn off the TV for one night a week to start. Make small incremental changes to transform you view of reading.
Read 500 pages like this every day. That’s how knowledge works. It builds up, like compound interest. All of you can do it, but I guarantee not many of you will…
Books I’m Currently Loving:
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Crazy Rich Asian Series by Kevin Kwan
The Food Lab by J Kenzi Lopes- Alt
In His Image by Jen Wilkin
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