I know I’ve mentioned a few different books in other posts but if I haven’t said it outright, I will say it now—I love to read. If, when I was in the regular workforce, I could have found a job where I was paid to read interesting books all day, it would be a dream (I actually did have a job where I read all day for five years but I was reading dry, boring legal documents that held no interest for me). Obviously jobs like this do exist but I have shifted my focus to new goals since I left my day job three years ago. The point is, I still love to read. And I know reading expands our knowledge base and helps us grow in many valuable ways.
Far too few people spend any time reading these days, or growing their minds, period. For most people, it is hard to put effort into reading and I believe that is in part because our society doesn’t encourage reading nearly enough. Reading is seen as hard work from a very young age, and when something is viewed as work, most of us try to find ways to avoid it wherever possible.
Just yesterday my dad mentioned that he is trying to find some suitable reading material for a young man he is mentoring. When my sister asked if the young man (he is about sixteen years old) liked to read, my dad said he wasn’t sure but that he needed to learn the disciple regardless of inclination. While I agree with that principle—we all need to disciple ourselves to spend time in exercises of growth even when we don’t feel like it—I also think it would behoove us as a society to find ways to encourage these exercises in growth to be viewed from a different perspective. Because let’s face it, if this young man doesn’t like to read, he will be very unlikely to read any of the books my dad gives to him, regardless of how they might benefit him. And while it is ultimately each person’s choice as to how they will live their lives, it is our responsibility as a society to set up our young people for success (something that isn’t happening enough today).
If we can encourage reading from a young age, if we can frame reading as a normal and even exciting activity, perhaps it will make a difference in how kids view it. And most importantly, if we as adults and parents model the action of reading in our own lives, our kids will be more likely to do it. How can we expect them to enjoy reading if most of us rarely read more than a few books a year after college?
Reading is hugely important because it helps us entertain new perspectives, expand our minds with new ideas, explore other worlds and hear incredibly interesting stories. We owe it to ourselves to pick up this habit and begin reading, preferably a wide variety of material.
I feel incredibly lucky that I love to read. I think this love was encouraged and fostered by my parents, but I also know that I was born with a greater inclination to this activity than some. My husband, for example, will admit that he hates to read. He finds it to be a very labor-intensive activity and has explained to me that he often has to read the same sentence two or three times to really comprehend it on the level he desires. He has even joked that he would rather go to the dentist than read, but that is why I admire him all the more for taking on the challenge of reading. As he grew personally and professionally, it encouraged him to take on new challenges, and one of those was reading. To this day, he doesn’t read because he enjoys it; he reads because he understands the value that lies within the act of reading, and he will adamantly agree that reading has increased his knowledge and expanded his mindset. While a majority of the books he consumes these days are actually on audio, he still makes an effort to read hard-copy books because he believes it is important for his own self-growth.
So I guess my goal for today is to encourage you to add a few new books to your reading list and spend some time pursuing this valuable activity. Yes, it might mean that you have to cut back on that hour or two you relax in the evening with your favorite show but it is completely worth it. And if you don’t feel like you have time to sit down and read a hard-copy book (these are still my favorite way to read but I do listen to a lot more audio books these days because I can wash dishes or clean at the same time), at least take advantage of the extensive online audio book options—either through your local library or sources like Amazon Prime. When we look back over our lives, I don’t think any of us will wish we had watched more t.v. or played more Candy Crush on our phones, but we will wish that we had used our time engaged in valuable activities that helped us, challenged us, and made us learn something new. Reading can do that for us every time.
