Read More Books

One goal that has made it on to my list every year is to “read more books.” Something that I learned about myself a long time ago is that reading motivates me, sparks my creativity, and exposes me to inspirational people and ideas. It’s been awhile since I’ve posted on the blog about what’s on our nightstand. I used to love to share what I was reading and learning. I’m honestly not sure why I stopped. I’m a little embarrassed about how my nightstand looks at this moment. A little embarrassed and a little proud.

no excuses

The hardest part is not reading, the hardest part is making sure I have books on hand to read. If I have a book on the table next to my journal then it’s simple to pick it up and start reading first thing in the morning. If I have to research what to read, download something, or wait for Amazon to ship it to my house, then everything gets delayed.

This year, I started a running list of books that I want to read. I use Trello as a to-do list app and one of my Trello boards is a book list with a variety of book categories from business to photography to spirituality. Barrier number one of what to read is instantly eliminated. Every time I come across book recommendations, I add them to the list.

Barrier number two is getting the book. These days it’s easy to download a book instantly and start reading. Still attached to physical paper, I’m a big fan of the library. Of course, if the book is already checked out that means you have to wait. A few weeks ago I logged onto the library website and searched numerous books on my list. A few were available and a few I placed on hold. Now I find myself in the position of having a huge stack of books on my dresser.

absorbing the information

I’ve been plowing through books lately since I made it part of my morning routine to read and journal. I’ve gone through many potentially life changing books. It makes me wonder if I’m missing the life changing possibilities by reading too quickly. How long does it take to digest and implement what we read?

Once in awhile I look back through my journal and come across impactful insights I had from a particular book. How did I forget about my realization that was going to change everything? Lately I’ve been reading a variety of books on different topics that all have a lot to say about mindset. It’s interesting because it almost feel as though dozen of talented authors are all trying to tell me the same thing. I get it already, I get it. Or do I?

using the information for change

The last book I read was The Miracle Morning, if you haven’t read it check it out. I love that Hal Elrod ties our success to our personal development. How can we expect to do great work in the world if we aren’t doing great work on ourselves? I love the way he combines a variety of morning habits to create the ultimate morning ritual. He’s completely right, I’ve tried starting my day right with a few of the practices but the way he combines six is pretty powerful. Since reading that book I’ve adjusted my reading and writing ritual l to include other practices as well.

Then, this morning I opened Change Anything. Had I been ordering when to read what book, this would have been the perfect sequence. The book is about changing habits, which is what Hal Elrod is trying to get his readers to do so that they can live a better life. After reading about different strategies to help change our behaviors and develop new habits, I came across something that hit home. An answer to why people still fail.

It also answered for me why I need five books on one subject in order for me to dissect, reorganize, and create a game plan that will work for me. In simple terms, one size doesn’t fit all. We have to take into account our own strengths and weaknesses when coming up with a plan of how to change a habit. Which makes complete sense and feels incredibly obvious. All of the best information is like that. You hear it and think it’s groundbreaking and then say it out loud and it feels like common sense.