Recently I’ve been on a huge reading kick, picking up everything and anything I can get my hands. With the wonderful advent of Amazon, you can easily and cheapily get any book you want.
I’ve found that no matter what I read, the act of reading every day has helped me in nearly every aspect of my life. Here are a few of my ways that reading can improve the quality of your life.
It makes you smarter:
Those that read have a higher intelligence, and general knowledge than those that don’t. In Anne E. Cunningham’s paper
What Reading Does for the Mind , she found that reading, in general, makes you smarter, and it keeps you sharp as you age.
No matter what you’re wanting to do or become, you can’t do it without more knowledge. Reading is an excellent way to get where you’re wanting to go.
Reading reduces stress:
Like most form of entertainment intends to do, reading distracts your mind from whatever is going on in your world at a given time. Fiction is meant to the best for this, although I don't read an abundance of fictional books. Whatever it is your reading, you can bet it will relax you.
Given that I’m a pretty high-energy person, reading forces me to sit and be still. This daily act of making myself be quiet and still has been nothing short of miraculous for my life.
Improved analytical thinking:
Cunningham’s studies have found that analytical thinking is boosted by reading. Readers improve their general knowledge, and more importantly are able to spot patterns quicker. If you can spot patterns quicker, your analytical skills receive a boost.
Increased vocabulary:
It’s no secret that reading increases your vocabulary and improves your spelling, but did you know that reading increases your vocabulary more than talking or direct teaching? Reading forces us to look at words that we might not have seen or heard before.
Increased vocabulary is especially crucial for bloggers or writers. All successful writers will tell you that in order to write well, you need to read. Every day. You’ll be surprised at the words you start incorporating into your writing.
Knowing what other people are saying and using the perfect words to convey your feelings is a critical part of being a better human. Better listeners are more successful in life.
Helps prioritize goals:
Many times we’re certain we know what we “really want” in life. Yet I’ve found that activities like reading show me things I didn’t know about myself. My mind will drift to things that I’d really like to do, and it isn’t long that these little lapses in reading start to cycle. The same sort of goals keep popping into my head, allowing me to see what I really want to do.
When you remove yourself from your work environment, you’ll start to see things that you might really want to do, that you’re not doing yet. Reading gives you a chance for your to wander.
Conclusion
Ok so there are a few ways that reading makes you better at life, I urge you all to pick up a book today and start reading. We make time for the things that are important to us. How much TV do you watch? How much time do you spend trawling the web? You could easily replace reading with those activities.
Peace
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