Reading is important. So important, that it gets its own post in the series. Reading takes us out of our own limited thinking. One book can change your life—if you internalise the lessons and ideas.
Mission: Find Gems
When I think about reading, I get excited. In fact, nothing brings me more excitement than finding a gem in a bookshop. But I wasn’t always a reader. When I was young, I found books to be a bit of a chore. Some books were exceptions, but I always struggled to read consistently. And reading was more about appeasing grown-ups than actually following my own curiosity.
This changed in my twenties when I realised that the right book at the right time can offer solutions that are simply absent from mainstream discussions and common knowledge. This is true for so many avenues: health, nutrition, learning, healing, the list goes on. For instance, most people believe that intelligence is fixed. I’ve read several books that say this is simply not the case. You have limits, depending on certain factors, but many sources say that years of intense focus can definitely improve cognition.
That’s just one example. It is, however, an important example because so many people believe that intelligence is fixed. Here’s the thing: Our ideas about what is possible limit us. Our faulty ideas limit us. And we have faulty ideas about many, many things. This can be remedied by reading a lot.
Reading multiple books on a subject gives us multiple perspectives. It can also help us to identify essential truths and better ideas. When we read a lot, we aren’t boxed in by one way of thinking. Our minds become nimble. Our mental capacity develops.
Seek out books that contradict the common sense ideas that keep people so utterly stuck. Find gems. Seek out books that have solutions to problems that you face. Be receptive to synchronicities. Be receptive to your intuition. And read.
Follow Your Curiosity
Reading should not be a chore. That is important. Making it a chore will prevent you from tapping into the natural joy of reading. But that is not to say that it isn’t challenging at the start. Learning to read with deep comprehension takes time and effort. Building the habit of reading daily takes persistence.
But read to satisfy curiosity. Not people. I have from time to time gone deep on certain subjects just because I was interested and wanted to solve a certain problem for myself. I’ve also tried to read War and Peace once or twice. I never finished it because my motivation wasn’t right. The key to effortless reading is to follow your curiosity.
Keep in mind that not all books (or authors) are equal. The most valuable insights and wisdom can be concentrated into just a few books or authors. Think: Pareto principle. But to get to the truly valuable works takes some patience and persistence. It might also require you to listen to your intuition.
Benefits of Reading
I don’t want to sound like the irritating parent that says, “You know you should really read more.” What I would rather say is this: The benefits of reading are substantial, concrete, and far-reaching. Every book might not be great, but things with substance will change your life. Reading just a few good books on, say, habits can have a disproportionately positive effect on your life. Of course, there is an execution piece as well. But reading can change everything. Here’s a list of benefits:
- Reading will dramatically improve your focus. Reading is a bit like exercise. It strains you at the start, but it gets easier eventually. Focus improves. And in this strange age of near infinite entertainment, being a reader puts you head and shoulders above the rest.
- Reading can facilitate dramatic life changes. This is not about slogging through books to gain someone’s approval. This is about finding secrets. Finding answers to questions that you’ve had for decades. This is about finding the hidden gems of life.
- Reading can draw us out of our own destructive internal narratives. This is especially true for spiritual texts. For example, reading a few pages of A Course in Miracles can quickly pull one out of circling blame narratives. But read what resonates.
- Books and written material (and even videos and podcasts) can give better guidance than experts. Again, this might not always be the case, but it was certainly true regarding my sciatica. Four or five expensive experts did less for me than books and YouTube videos. Of course I had to implement the recommendations, but it still seems crazy if you think about it.
- Books challenge our faulty ideas about things. Many of our core ideas aren’t based on fact or deeper truth. Our ideas often sprout from projections, dogma, common narratives, parroted knowledge, whatever. The point is that reading can give us new perspectives. It opens us up to other ideas. If we can read with deep comprehension, we can do almost anything. Certain things might require action. Other things will require trial and error. But it starts with reading.
Final thoughts
It is difficult to make time for reading if we have a screen addiction. I’m a reader and I occasionally waste huge chunks of time by scrolling, watching videos, and playing games. This tendency lessens if we actually have a solid practice of reading in place.
Start somewhere. Start with an hour every day. Or maybe thirty minutes. Set a timer. You can watch that cat video afterwards.