Reading for me is a calm and pleasurable activity. It allows my mind to be carried away on someone else's' adventure. There are people to meet, places to go and no worries for me along the way. In my waking moments of life, I suffer from so much anxiety, it can be very hard to relax. My brain and body are so tired at the end of the day that there isn't much room for more. But when I read, I feel exhilarated. I feel at peace and comfortable. I love finding a cozy spot and snuggling up with my cat or dog and reading a good book.
It pains me when someone says they do not like reading or they can't understand how people can do it. The teacher side of my brain goes right to, well maybe they are a struggling reader or they have a disability, thats understandable. But honestly its almost even more of a reason to read. Reading allows your brain to work in such a different way and science proves that it helps us become better with vocabulary, emotional intelligence, aging of the brain and overall our well being. There are so many benefits. So when someone tells me they don't read, I wonder also about the fact that maybe they just haven't found something they like. That is a more common factor when I dig deeper into the conversation. I can promise you, there is something out there for everyone. There are so many different kinds of reading templates out there to try.
Get this, even audio books are considered reading! The brain has to do very similar work as looking at a book or listening to a book so researchers say it's the same! So maybe audio books are your thing! If you have never tried it before, I highly recommended it! Audio books have the extra benefit of multi-tasking while reading. Audio books are great for car rides, showers or folding the laundry. There really are no excuses for not doing something. We humans are just lazy. Or sometimes, we just don't thing outside of the box. We don't break the habits of our normal schedules to fit in things we actually want to do.
I challenge you to break up your habits. Change your cycle and maybe add in some reading time! I think you may find you like it more than you ever thought before!
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