I have written many posts about the benefits of reading books and how you can change your thinking and interact with the world through reading books. And here in this article, I want to write about my experience of reading books and how this habit has helped me in getting better day by day.
- I became more conscious of my health and quit smoking ( I was a chain smoker who once smoked 20-30 cigarettes a day. Reading has helped me to quit it. TRULY. No doubt.
2. I started running daily and now I spend at least half an hour doing exercises of different types ( since 2019, I have run over 3700 kilometres averaging 3 kilometres a day). Before that, I truly hated any kind of exercise. One very old thought was stuck in my brain, and that was, why should I do exercise? Even people who don't exercise live longer, and people who exercise daily die of diseases. Reading changed my thought.
3. I learnt about Dean Karnazes, a man who has run 50 marathons in 50 days in 50 states of the USA. After learning about him I came to know he has written some great books. Like , this one. I bought it and read it from start to end and learnt new things about improving my running. I also learnt about General Stanley McChrystal through book reading; GSM sleeps only 4 hours, run 11-13 kilometre daily and lives on only one meal a day. Reading about such people inspires us to take action instead of making excuses. Does it not inspire you? Did you know these great people? Probably not. Reading helps us to know lots of things which we should know.
4. Through reading books, I learnt about Haruki Murakami and his book on running; before reading his book, my average running per month was only 75-80 kilometres and even less in some months. But after reading his book, my monthly average reached 210+ kilometres ( yes, it is true after reading his book, I averaged 210+ km in a month). Did I change? No, but my perspective changed; I just started paying more attention to taking action than thinking about outcomes.
5. Reading books has helped me to learn personal finance and manage my money better. I am really blessed that I got a chance to read the books and blogs of some wonderful people who motivated me to invest money in equity mutual funds and stocks. If I had not read them, I would have managed my money recklessly. I could not be in a better financial condition if I did not read books on managing money and my finances.
6. Through reading books, I learnt about harmful effects of sugar and how to minimise it. My refined sugar intake has come down to a minimum. I started drinking green tea and more water to control my sugar craving.
7. Reading books has let me know many good writers who have written beautiful books, like Ryan Holiday, and Eckhart Tolle. Their books, The Power of Now, Obstacle is The Way, and Daily Stoic, are beautiful books to read again and again to overcome any unfavorable situation in one’s lives.
8. Through reading books, I came to know about Peter Lynch, Philip Fisher, Ken Fisher, Bill Ackman, George Soros, Charlie Munger, and Warren Buffet; they are the world’s greatest money managers whose innovative yet simple and common sense style of investing money can help us in making better decisions in investing our money. Reading books about them teach us more good things about better ways of managing our money than the books on the finances of an MBA school. I bet you agree with me.
9. Reading books have also helped me to find out more ways to make money online and rely less upon jobs that have been quite uncertain now and pay less for our hard work. I learnt about James Altucher and Tim Ferris, whose books Choose Yourself and The 4-hour Week are game changers for anyone who wants to succeed in doing their things.
10. Before I started reading books, I was shy to start any discussions. Reading has helped me to improve on it. Now I feel confident and love to talk to others which have helped me in improving my skills and getting help on things I need.
11. Reading has helped me to put my thoughts into words and influenced me to write daily. This has enabled me to publish my first book on personal finance.
12. Through reading books, I have learnt about Jon Marrow; he is a person living with SMA ( spinal muscular atrophy) and built a multimillion dollars business. I think you should read this article written by him about his life struggles and how he has coped with struggles. I believe this is the best article I have ever read by someone like Jon Marrow. Go through it from start to finish, and I know you will come back and thank me for sharing this link. After reading it, you will probably make less excuses; the article will change your perspective. Visit the link, read that article first and come back here.
13. My voracious reading habit has taught me about Shri Yogananda Paramhans ji, whose book "Autobiography of a Yogi'' is life-changing. After reading this book, I can say that I am truly blessed. And anyone who reads this book will find themselves blessed. The book can answer all of your life's mysteries spiritually. Now I wonder why I read it so late, and nobody told me about this book earlier. I can even buy you this book if you can't afford it. It is so good book to be shared with every person you know and care.
14. Reading has helped me to overcome procrastination. And procrastination is the natural killer of our dreams. It eats all of our time on trifles without doing anything meaningful. Reading taught me about Pomodoro techniques, 2 minutes of productivity rules, and many practical methods to overcome it. Now I can do more at the same time. Regular reading can open up a number of ways to get going and be strong irrespective of the things around you.
15. Reading books also improves our health. And health is vital to fight with setbacks and keep moving on the path of success. The University of Sussex did an elaborate study to discover the benefits of reading and came up with many promising findings. According to the study, reading can help us reduce stress by not 1% or 2% but astonishingly over 68%. So, if you're feeling stressed, here is the good news you can get it out by reading.
I have personally experienced the benefits of reading books. It is a habit I think I should have developed much earlier. It has truly changed me a lot. And it will change you too.
So, get up and start reading now.
How do you like reading? What types of things do you want to read? Please share your experience.