Reading is the essential hobby of the well-read person. Great books expand our knowledge and challenge our perspective. They make us think, feel, and reassess what we once believed to be true.
They expand our minds and bring us new ideas. They can help us find meaning in life, see the world with fresh eyes, and understand what’s important to us as humans.
Ralph Waldo Emerson was right, “Some books leave us free and some books make us free.”
Great books can also help you design a good life. It is not just what you read but what you do with the knowledge in books.
Reading develops our intelligence. It feeds the part of your brain that sees patterns and understands nuances in meaning beyond simple words on a page. The more great books you read, the more you are exposed to timeless wisdom for life.
“Books and doors are the same thing. You open them, and you go through into another world,” says Jeanette Winterson.
Reading great books also helps you design a good life because it exposes you to different perspectives on what it means to be human in this world.
Great books inspire us to think about ourselves and how we can be better people than we are today. They give us insight into other people’s struggles and their solutions to those struggles.
Life-changing books also expose us to different ways of thinking, challenge our worldview, spark new ideas, and help us make better decisions.
They can also help us design the life we seek or want. That’s because great books don’t just provide knowledge — they change how we think about the world and how we live in it.
Reading is not enough; aim for a valuable return on your time
Roald Dahl was right when he said, “If you are going to get anywhere in life, you have to read a lot of books.”
Good books can inspire you to think more meaningfully about what matters in life, what sort of person you want to be, and how you can achieve those goals.
And ultimately help you design a good life by challenging your beliefs, sparking new ideas, and inspiring action. The best part? These reads are available for low prices online.
Almost everything you need to design a better life in a few books. The only requirement is the commitment to read and practice what you learn from great minds.
“Once you learn to read, you will be forever free,” says Frederick Douglass.
Books are a problem-solving tool that feeds us new knowledge, challenges our thinking and encourages us to think in new ways to improve ourselves.
Good books give us insight into other people’s experiences and our own. They also present solutions to problems we face in life and at work.
Reading takes time — but it’s time well spent.
Having said that, it’s also important to stress that you don’t have to read every recommended book on improving yourself.
The two-step process
The most important step in finding great wisdom from books is identifying what you want out of life. It’s essential to choose the right books for your specific situation.
Start with a goal in mind. What does a good life mean to you? How will you define a good life? Use your answer to find specific authors who present solutions or approaches to building the life you expect.
Books answer specific questions. It all depends on what you’re looking for, so take the time to think about what you’re looking for before you invest in any books. Making the most of great books depends on what you want out of life and how much time you have available to read.
Once you have a clear idea of your goals, cultivate a love for reading.
When you develop an appetite for good books, you can begin experimenting with different ideas, lessons, wisdom and principles you come across in books.
“If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all,” argues Oscar Wilde.
Books are the only true guide, counsellor and mentor you need to change the trajectory of your life. “If you know how to read, then the whole world opens up to you,” Barack Obama said.
Great books can inspire, teach, and empower you to find the best version of yourself. And, even if you don’t feel like implementing what you read immediately, taking notes or journaling about what you read can be a powerful way to connect with the material and make connections in your life later.
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This post was previously published on Mind Cafe.
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