This article sheds light on some distinctive and unique benefits of reading books.
Why is reading books important?
2021 is about to end, and 2022 is on its way. People all around the globe are planning to make all sorts of New Year resolutions that probably won’t last till the end of the year.
But if you want to succeed and be happy in life, there is one resolution you should make and fulfill this year which is developing a reading habit.
Most people are not interested in reading books as it is very time-consuming and tedious. While people who are bookworms appreciate every little book available in the market.
Books are man’s best friend as they always give us solutions to our problems without expecting anything in return.
There is one thing common in the global leaders, powerful personalities, and entrepreneurs such as Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, etc., they all read many books every day.
Books may be small in size, but they make an enormous impact on the lives of people. Reading books is one of the most life-changing, mind-blowing, and impactful experiences of one’s life.
There are many valuable lessons and teachings hidden in the books that you can learn at a relatively low cost.
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A survey conducted among 22000 people about the frequency of reading in 2017:
30% read every day, 29% read once weekly, 17% preferred reading once monthly, and 6% never read a book.
Some of the distinctive benefits of reading books are as follows
- Builds Your Imagination and Creativity
While reading a book, you have to memorize the book’s plot and paint people’s characters in your mind. This helps to build your imagination and creativity.
Many books are being adapted into films, and people prefer to watch 2 hours movies than read lengthy books.
When you watch the film, you are watching the characters through the director’s eye. This, in turn, destroys your creativity and imagination.
It is advised to read books to smaller kids and not show them the picture books to ensure better creativity and imagination.
In fiction, there can be a blue moon or a yellow apple. So, don’t kill their vision by saying there is only a white moon and red apples.
You should try reading a book that is adapted into a movie. After reading the book, watch the film. It will be a memorable experience to see how much of your imagination has come true.
A book is an excellent device to ignite your imagination.
- Storehouse of Knowledge
Books have immense knowledge and wisdom hidden inside a small packing. Reading helps you to gain knowledge about different subjects and learn various things.
Reading books builds your knowledge and perspective. This knowledge will help you build confidence and boost your morale, as you will know more than other people. Successful people read self-improvement books to gain immense knowledge, become happy and successful in life.
Whenever the knowledge is taught with the help of a story or examples, it is easier to remember. And books have an ongoing storyline running within the book, making it easier for readers to recollect.
Source: https://pixabay.com/illustrations/storytelling-fantasy-imagination-4203628/
Self-help books have a lot of wisdom and teachings which help change our lives.
- Improves Concentration and Focus
Reading a book requires you to sit still in one place for a long time. This habit of sitting and reading helps to build concentration. Remembering the plot, the characters, and the theme of the story allows you to focus better.
Reading helps you to train your mind and body to relax and get lost in the book. It keeps your mind active and working. When you read, different areas in your brain light up with an activity that increases brain connectivity.
Reading books, novels or magazines is an exercise your brain needs to keep it sharp, fit, and efficient. While reading, your entire brain is doing some coding which makes you feel refreshed.
Don’t ever force yourself to read a book that doesn’t excite you. There are so many books available to suit your taste. Find the right one.
- Perspective Thinking and Empathy
One of the unique benefits of reading books is Empthy. Empathy means the ability to sense the pains and emotions of other people. Reading books helps us to form a bond with the characters. This means we feel happy in their happiness, and we are sad in their misery.
When we read a book, especially a Fictional book, it boosts our empathy towards other people, helping us broaden our perspective and thinking.
Reading also helps to accept the ideas and thinking that are very different from ours, making us broader-minded and less judgemental. It also helps young kids improve their Emotional Intelligence.
Young children who are avid readers easily connect to other people, which makes them bright and sharp-minded. With increased social relations and connections, they feel a boost of self-esteem.
Reading books gives you a new way of thinking.
- Reduces Stress and Anxiety
One of the most important benefits of reading is reduced stress and anxiety. In today’s fast-paced and rapidly changing world, it is crucial to find some time to read.
In a study conducted in 2009, experts concluded that only 30 minutes of reading has similar effects in combating stress like yoga or humor.
Reading a fictional book helps you to get lost in the book and escape reality for some time.
This drastically lowers the stress level in our body and reduces our anxiety. Reading a good book in the night also helps you cure insomnia.
Reduced stress and anxiety help you to sleep better. A good book opens doors to new places, ideas, imaginations, and possibilities.
Reading before sleep is halfway between dreaming and reality.
- Reduces the risk of getting brain diseases
As a scientifically proven fact, reading books can help in brain development while keeping it healthy. When you read, your whole brain is decoding the words and sentences to make sense.
You are interpreting the words and sentences to understand the meaning. This process helps your brain to function efficiently.
Reading helps you to strengthen the memory muscle and aids you to have a good memory.
Due to this active functioning of the brain, there are fewer chances of brain diseases such as Dementia and Alzheimer’s coming your way. Reading also helps young kids to develop their brains to their full potential.
Critical reasoning, analytical thinking, solving puzzles, and reading books can help improve the cognitive functioning of the brains of senior or old-aged people. This, in turn, reduces the possibilities of brain-related diseases such as Dementia, Alzheimer’s, etc.
It is better to peep into books rather than peep into other’s life.
- Increased Analytical thinking and Critical Reasoning
Analytical thinking is the ability of a person to break the chunks of information given and decode them to make a logical decision. It helps break the information and facts into smaller ones to understand them better.
Critical reasoning is to find a conclusion from the structured facts and information available to us.
Reading can help build strong analytical and reasoning skills. It helps you in daily life, where you have to choose between two alternatives by analyzing the option efficiently.
It sometimes happens when reading a murder mystery or a fictional book you know who the culprit is or what will happen next.
That is because you are putting your Analytical and Reasoning skills to use by using all the information and plot available to you while reading.
Books are like mirrors; you only reflect what you already have.
- Save your Time and Money
Now imagine you want to learn about business and your mentors are Steve Jobs or Elon Musk. Think how much you will learn from these successful people.
We all know these people are super busy and have no time to teach us, but we can study and understand their teachings and learning’s from the books they wrote. That will help you save your time and money while teaching you life wisdom from great mentors.
You will also find solutions for your problems from reading books as many people in the past may have gone through the same crisis and found solutions for it. You will quickly learn what to do and what not to do to achieve your dream and succeed in life.
Source: https://pixabay.com/illustrations/success-strategy-business-solution-2081168/
Sometimes we lose ourselves in the book, to find ourselves in the book again.
- Writing
Another spectacular benefits of reading books is writing. People who read a lot of books have impressive vocabulary and language skills. That added with the different writing styles they read from distinct authors helps in writing engaging content.
The best way to read a book is to read it from the writer’s perspective. This increases your storytelling and communication skills.
Reading books helps you to understand different genres and forms of writing. A person who reads different genres has a lot of exposure and knowledge about writing content to impress others.
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This creative writing helps us in the long run when we know what to write to please our boss, colleague, partner, or friends. Writing journals also helps to reduce stress and anxiety. Reading books influences your writing skills and vice-versa.
Something magical happens when you write your goals and dreams on paper, it helps you make your dreams come true.
- Broadens your Horizon
The most crucial benefits of reading books is it broadens your horizon and nakes you broad-minded. Reading different genres of books makes you know and understand a lot of perspectives. Reading books of different cultures and ethnicities often makes you more tolerable and compassionate to others.
When you expose yourself to different story characters, thoughts, and feelings, you understand them better.
Some characters in the book may not be according to your liking, but you tend to become more empathic. This empathy also helps you to become less judgemental of others in real life.
Books can take you anywhere, anytime, and at your comfort. Reading books makes you a good thinker, writer, and leader.
More reading leads to deeper learning. And the more you will learn, the more you will prosper.
Final thoughts
Barring some of the most common benefits of reading books like language development, vocabulary building, and memory improvement, these were other unique benefits of reading.
So the next time when you are gifting somebody something, think of a book as a gift. Because books are extraordinary and portable magic you can carry anywhere and which can carry you anywhere.
Soul Potion
You can choose one corner of your house and name it a reading corner. Reading corner is generally found in preschools to inculcate the habit of reading in young children.
You can take the idea and decorate the corner to motivate you to read. Have a comfortable setting and tranquil environment in your reading corner to ensure peaceful reading. And make sure you read at least 10 pages of book, newspaper, or magazine every day.
It will also motivate your younger ones and other family members to participate in reading activities, making it a good bonding session with your family.
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