In a bookstore…

Describe one positive change you have made in your life.

I set these prompts on my jet pack in the hopes that it would get me to remember to write more often. Some of these prompts are interesting, though none have brought me to write anything and usually results in the dismissal of the reminder on my phone.

I’d been browsing the books at the Barnes and Nobles bookstore, promising myself that I would stop 3o minutes ago and work on some homework or maybe even write this blog post. Somewhere between romance and some fantasy, I was hoping to find some inspiration.

I finally made my way to a chair with a couple of books in hand and the determination not to leave the bookstore until I accomplished something related to my goals. After letting more reading distract me, I finally opened my blog and saw this question.

I think it’s ironic because the thing I would say that has made a positive impact in life recently has been something I’m sitting here trying to pull myself away from doing, reading.

At the beginning of this year, I committed to reading 24 books by the end of 2023: 12 self-development and 12 non-fiction. I’ve never been able to read that many books before, but I want to make reading a more significant part of my life this year. There are so many benefits to reading, and making it more a part of my life felt like something that would not only expand my mind and perspective but get me off my social media.

They say if you start to do one thing well, then other things begin to fall into place, and honestly, in my life, I’ve found this to be true.

Last year in June, I went on vacation with the boy toy, and my bestie convinced me that I should read “Neon Gods” and that while reading self-development was excellent, reading a fun book might make it even more extraordinary. Being a sucker for smut novels, I agreed to read the book. I finished it in 3 days.

Something happened to me while I was reading this book. Until this point, I was only reading self-development books, and while I enjoy reading and learning, it can take a lot of time to digest and read it, often given the feeling that it’s taking a “long” time to read. It also gets boring sometimes; not going to lie, but I push through.

But while I was reading this book, I remembered my love for smut and rekindled my love for just reading. It had been years since I finished a book in 3 days, and that was even with the traveling and activities that we were doing. Suddenly it felt like I had unlocked a key in my brain, and immediately I was reading faster and I couldn’t wait to pick up my next book.

After that experience, I tested a theory. Could I read a self-development book faster if I read a fiction book simultaneously? I was already used to reading two books at once. I would do it when I would get bored of one self development book and needed to change it up.

I picked up ‘Verity’ and ‘The Emyth Revisited’ and finished both in 2 months. Amazing. It felt like I unlocked the code in my brain, and I now knew how to get myself to read faster and stick with this habit.

And so, at the beginning of this year, I started to read two books a month. ‘The Power of One More’ and ‘Beautiful Stranger’ were the first on the list, and I managed to finish both before the month ended.

It’s now July, and while I’m still working through my June books, I have found that the habits that I am creating by allowing myself to have a balance in life are helping me to reach my goals faster. Almost 12 books into the year, and I can genuinely say Im pretty proud of myself. During,the week I focus on my self development book and on weekends I read my fiction novel. It’s the perfect dance, the perfect balance to reading.

Life is always going out of balance, but finding the sweet spot feels like summer after a rainy spring. I know it won’t always be this way, life swings out of balance always, but it’s the constant readjusting and rebalancing that keeps it’s it exciting.

Until next time…I’m off to read my books by the pool.

A.A.