Reading a Book is an Adventure
Sometimes we read books just to find information, whereas reading can open our minds and teach us to have a meaningful life purpose.
Reading books is one way to build good self-development. Why? Because, when you read a book, whether you realize it or not, all knowledge that is light to heavy will be absorbed into the brain. Then, the knowledge will be processed to produce many ideas that will change your behavior and mindset as a human being.
Recently, I noticed people around me who like to read books and I met oko. I asked oko, he is a UI designer at a company in Indonesia, what he did outside work. He quickly replied that he read avidly.
I am shocked. Not many people at my workplace like to read books and that’s frustrating when I want to discuss books with friends.
Fewer people read these days, but I honestly feel that reading is one of the few non-digital gifts we can still enjoy. We can’t allow the fast pace of modern life to paralyze us, locking us into a robotic, linear lifestyle enslaved by technology and an instant gratification mindset. Reading is a superpower.
Oprah Winfrey says, “What I love most about reading — it gives you the ability to reach higher ground. A world of possibilities awaits you. Keep turning the page.”
Warren Buffet was once asked about the secret to his success in finance. Holding a stack of papers and reports he replied, “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 do it.”
Bill Gates reads a book a week.
Elon Musk is a voracious reader and growing up often read two books a day.
Reading has not only made me a better person but has also taught me to be more mindful and intentional about everything I do.
When we sit alone with a good book, our mind wanders and wanders into different worlds that we haven’t seen or heard of. I remember when I read The Little Prince this depiction of how children and adults see the world made me realize how much fun it is to be a child and how difficult it is to be an adult fascinated me and kept me turning pages. It was as if I lived there for the one month it took me to finish the book.
Reading is also a meditation. We automatically switch off the chattering mind and focus all our energies on reading the lines on the page before us. It may be difficult to concentrate at first, but then the prose pulls us into the story. We become lost in the details, and somehow all our worrisome thoughts fall away.
I’ve recently started “deep reading” for twenty minutes every morning before I do anything else. I will read Grit, you do you. I’ve been doing this for a month now, and I’ve found it to be both calming and reassuring as if I’m connecting to my soul in those quiet morning moments.
Completing a book is a great discipline as well. It takes perseverance and a strong commitment to complete a book. It sends a message to our own psyche and to others that we are determined and can achieve what we intend to do.
I have committed to reading a book every morning or before bed for the past two years. I’m not always successful, but I enjoy the self-control in turning away from meaningless social events or activities to pursue my goals. I now carry my book with me wherever I may have to wait when I feel I am running out of time due to work, then after finishing work I will spend two hours in the evening free to make up for a lost time.
Sometimes we read for information and think we forgot everything, but we don’t. “Good things” always stick. Our subconscious is filled with life’s most precious details without us even realizing it.
Books for me are not only a source of information but also a way to escape the stresses of my life. It’s my pastime alone time to be wherever I choose and whoever I want to be.
Reading has opened my mind, exposed me to all that the world has to offer. I hope I can inspire many people to read a book every morning. And I wish “one page every morning” to be the slogan of my life.
