SHALL WE READ?

You are reading this, so you are already taking the right steps. Reading is the ability to see, recognize, and understand words and in turn, use them. You read to learn how to communicate, to get an education, for entertainment, and for everyday life activities. It is important as a side note that you ought to assume a good posture whilst reading and you should occasionally rest your eyes if you are using an electronic device. So, why should you read? 

Reading will set you free, literally.

By the stroke of midnight on January 1st, 1863, the emancipation proclamation came into effect stating that slaves in the confederacy would be declared free if the Union won the war. This power move facilitated the final freedom of all slaves in America years later. Now, it was said that after the final freedom call, some slaves were still in captivity because they had not heard and were not able to read the proclamation that had been written out into small pamphlets and pasted. The ones that could read, discovered they were free and were able to leave, the ones that couldn’t read, didn’t know they had been set free. Reading will literally set you free from all forms of slavery: physical, mental, and financial amongst others.

Reading exposes you to knowledge.

The difference between you and a doctor, lawyer, architect, or engineer is the knowledge they possess about their respective fields. If you’ve read and practiced what they’ve read and practiced, you’d know what they know. Knowledge broadens your horizons and gives you options. It shows your perspectives and viewpoints you never thought about and this puts you at a good advantage to utilize it and also learn more.

Reading aids mental exercise.

Just as you exercise your body to stay active and alert, your brain also needs to stay sharp and one way of achieving this is by reading. Reading is a brain-stimulating activity because it involves a complex network of circuits and signals in your brain to interpret and understand what your eyes see as text. This helps your brain to develop in fascinating ways and it also helps your brain to keep functioning.

There are ways that you can adopt a reading lifestyle:

1. Realize the purpose and importance of reading. Naturally, if you don’t know the value of a thing, there’s a tendency to treat it with levity. You need to understand the ultimate essence of reading which includes reading to learn, to expand your perspective, and to alleviate troubles of reality amongst others. Grasping its importance would help you prioritize reading.
2. Join a book club or find a reading partner. Book clubs help you cultivate a reading habit. Humans live and learn by association, that’s why babies act out what they see. Being in the midst of people or with someone that spends a good time reading can help strengthen your reading habits. Go on Twitter, Facebook or WhatsApp to find reading groups to join, or ask a friend or family member to be your reading partner. Iron sharpens iron!
3. Read your areas of interest first. Naturally, we are inclined to shift to anything that pleases us, so use that to your advantage. Read about things that interest you, you’d find out that you’d end up spending a good time reading and gradually you’d progress to reading other areas of concern because your reading habit is developed.
4. Buy books. When you spend money, you want to make it count. So, buy books, invest in good books, you’d want to maximize your money by reading them.
5. Start gradually. Read in bits, possibly in the mornings or at night, one chapter or less at a time. Use a reminder to notify you every day if necessary and try to stick to it. 

Reading displays before you a banquet of knowledge and affords you the benefit of wisdom. There is a connection between reading and increased IQ levels. Remember the difference between you and most learned elites are the experiences they have had of which a large portion comes from reading. Michelangelo, Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King jr were all readers.

Readers are leaders!

À bientôt

(Article written by Berachah Uche)

Photo credit: https://freedesignfile.com/315863-reading-african-children-hd-picture/