I am questioning myself again and again about whether I should write a blog post about this or not. The inspiration to write about this hit me when I was talking to one of my beautiful listeners on Instagram and we started discussing books. Oh BTW, did you know that I am always up for a chat on IG? I am always up for a discussion about books, stationery, Law of Attraction, and all that jazz.
Coming back to the topic, I am an avid reader. I have 34 books sitting on the desk right now and many others stuffed in the cupboard because I couldn't fit them in here. People constantly come up with excuses like:
I don't have time to read
I don't know where to start
I get distracted easily
I can't imagine myself reading such a thick book
Reading is too difficult, I'd rather watch a movie, and so on.
If you ever made any of the excuses above but deep down you know you always wanted to read, this blog post is like a mini-course for you to develop your habit of reading.
A little back story
So I read my first book (apart from the academic stuff) in 8th grade. It is a funny story and I thought of sharing it to tell you that your first can be interesting too!
Quietly sitting on the chairs nearest to the door, I and my best friend prepared ourselves to persevere through the most boring class of all. Now, it is true that nerds love to read, but there has to be something that catches our interest as well!
Our school’s library was the most outdated of all, or at least it was for us because we couldn’t care less about our academic books, let alone novels sitting in the library gathering dust. We were in 8th grade if I remember correctly. Instead of reading books, we quietly communicated by writing on the notebook I brought along.
We talked about everything, from how slow the clock was moving to how handsome we found Harry Styles. After the class is over, the students get a chance to issue the books they like and also kill time to enter late in the next class with the best excuse. While the other students issued books, we just stood there roaming around pretending to look for a book we read in the last class (who am I kidding?)
Suddenly the brightly blue coloured book seemed oddly out of place amongst the dull and brown books. I pulled it out, and we did a little imaginary dance on the inside because the book looked something like this.
Now, please ignore the name of the author and remember that during the same time our newly found love, Ed Sheeran, released a song by the same name. I wasn’t into English movies, and we weren’t into novels either. So, little did we know the John Green was the name of the author, and we gladly believed that Ed Sheeran had written a book!
The beautiful miracle didn’t end there. There were two books, only two books on the shelf. We both got each one issued and went home excited to read the most precious book supposedly written by Ed Sheeran.
The next day, my best friend comes up to be saying, “I am returning this boring book. It’s all cancer-y! Please read yours and let me know what it is about.”
I nodded and quietly sat down. Little did she know I was on my way back to return the book as well. Change of plans! When I went home that day, I managed to skim past the first cancer-y chapter, and then the most beautiful journey began.
Present Scene
I have read over 50+ books and i just can't seem to get enough. (Space, money and time hahaha). Also, that girl isn't my best friend anymore *awkward silence*
Why You Should Read?
Being a reader, I believe everyone should read! But instead of forcing this down the neck of the non-readers, I would like to present the following statements in support of my cause:
If you are a content creator: Reading is especially important for content creators because they usually find themselves stuck in a creative block after sometime. The term content creators include people starting a business online, influencers, comedians, public speakers, and everyone else who shares something with the world. Everyone feels like they've run out of ideas at a point of time. This is where reading comes into picture. It helps to stimulate you mentally. Now, I am not telling you to copy from other creators, but I am telling you to go through books and read between the lines. I have all the best ideas when I am reading something and I feel that I can explain it in a better and different way.
If you are a student: You might be thinking that you already have books on your desk related to academics which you never touched, then why should you read other books? Reading something apart from your normal course material will help you to improve your mindset. If you loathe studying and fall asleep the moment you open your book, you probably have a negative outlook towards reading. I suggest you find out something that you love reading - it can be fiction, self-help, etc. When you'll do this, your brain will try to trick you back to sleeping but you would be excited to keep reading. This will help your brain to re-wire itself and think of readings as a good thing and voila! you would be able to get through your course material as well!
If you are a dreamer: Or an overthinker, I definitely recommend readings as a therapy. Reading can help you to escape your reality and strengthen your creative muscles. Also, if you keep thinking negatively, try to pick up a book and read 5 pages every time you think negative. You would probably end up finishing a lot of books!
If you are an impatient person: You NEED to read! Now you'd be like WTAF! Reading takes so much time! Well, technically, no! Because a book is literally the compilation of an author's years of experience into a few pages. So in comparison to that, it is not a slow process. What you would learn in 10 years of experience, you can learn in 5 or maybe 25 days of reading while doing all the other stuff you normally do!
So I hope I was able to convince you to at least give reading a thought! Now let's talk about how to create the habit of reading.
✅ Read the books that give you sense of enjoyment
Don't force yourself to read a biography if you have no interest in the sh*t that person did. Explore different genres such as fiction, science fiction, self-help, romance, mystery, horror, etc. (Don't be shy to try story books!)
✅ Start Small! ( I mean really small)
Start by reading 1 sentence if you find reading extremely boring. Just one sentence everyday. Now, this does not mean you limit yourself to 1 sentence. Most books are written in a way that they grab the attention of the reader and make the read further. So just push yourself to read that one tiny sentence and read more if you feel like you want to know what happens next.
If you are fine with starting out with 1 paragraph/ 1 page/ 1 chapter per day, do it! It is always tough to start the activity. Once you are in the flow you won't need to motivate yourself constantly. (You can use the same tip for working out or doing something that you know is good for you but you don't feel like it!)
✅ Skip Some Parts ( No, I am not kidding)
When you read a book, it doesn't mean you need to read every single word in it. If there are some examples about a thing that you already understood and you don't want to read them, skip it! If there is a whole section that you don't resonate with, skip it!
✅ Pencil Hack
Now, I know some readers would object this one because they don't like anything on their books, but if you are beginning the habit, try reading with a pencil. This can be a regular pencil or a color pencil. I tend to highlight lines in books using a red color pencil instead of a highlighter because it helps me repeat the sentence to myself while coloring it. (Also, make sure you use a pencil that makes you feel good when you hold it between your fingers)
✅ Have a Dedicated Reading Vacay!
This is the best one so far. Set aside one day (not on a regular basis) to read the whole day. All you do that day is read, eat, sleep and read again. I did this with my second novel and it was the best day ever!
✅ Keep a Reading List
Open notes in your phone (because you have your phone with you almost all the time) & title the note: Books to Read. ( I would love to see your screenshots, so send them on Instagram!)
Now, whenever you spot a book you feel like reading, or someone suggests you a book, quickly add it to that list. This will solve your biggest problem of - What should I read? (Trust me, that list is gonna get way longer in just a few weeks)
✅ A Dedicated Time/Person/Space
This is a basic one so I am combining it into one.
⚡ Set aside a specific time to read every single day (schedule it in your calendar)
⚡ Set aside a specific place to read every single day
⚡ Ask someone to be your accountability partner!
Lastly, if none of the above works, try listening to audio books. Now I love audio-books because they help me cover up even when I am doing something else, but I do miss the feel of a physical book.
⚡For beginners, listening to audiobooks is good and if you are impatient you can try out listening at 1.2x or higher.
⚡ Listen to audiobooks on Audible or a trusted source because most of the audio book apps have horrible narrators and that will make you repel reading even more.
If you resonated with this blog post, do let me know by dropping a text on Instagram.
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