Hey bookworms!
It’s a new year and I’ve decided that I’m not giving myself resolutions. Not at all. Wait, wait! Before you chase me away because you think I’m about to sour the taste of your renewed zest for life— just hear me out. My last blog was very driven, high-achiever-focused. This is who I am. I tend to dive head first into everything and give it my all. I love this about me. But as soon as I say to myself ‘you better do this,’ and ‘you better do that,’ my internal dialogue becomes harsher, less forgiving and generally a toxic perfectionist space. Results, metrics, numbers, stacks of high book piles become the centre, rather than appreciating the joy of reading.
This year, I want to be gentler with myself in absolutely every area of my life. I know the reader and individual I aspire to be, and instead of running as fast as possible to her— I’d rather take a mindful stroll to that ultimate destiny.
So here are five ways I’ll be kinder to myself, in my reading journey this year — without compromising depth and discipline.
1. Remember that story-telling isn’t just in books.
This may seem on the nose, but I didn’t realize how much monitoring my reading in-take led me to establish rules about what counts as valuable reading time or not. I locked myself in books I didn’t enjoy, books that I knew were poorly written, because it was, well — a book. I love books, but not because of what they are, but because of what they do. They teach me, they make me more empathetic, they challenge my thinking and they inspire me to reach for my dreams or to simply appreciate what I already have — sometimes all at once.
So if it’s just a poem I’ve read today, a fascinating news article, or a short story — that’s enough. I’ve watered my garden of ideas.
2. No more counting along the way.
Goodreads motivated me to read more, there‘s no doubt. Plus, it’s fun to count how many books I’ve read in one year and comparing that amount to the year before. I also like motivating myself with numbers. But how important are numbers, really? Budgeting doesn’t necessarily make you smart with money. Disciplined spending and knowing where to invest it does.
Counting my books and trying to reach a certain number (I even preferred whole numbers or multiples of five…. I mean, really? )– I realised was an unhealthy practice for me. It drew me away from the ‘why’ that I outlined above. Why am I reading this? To reach that 50-books-a-year mark? While it’s a powerful goal, right now, how many is not what’s important to me. It’s how did reading this make me feel? Which part of me did this book nourish most? In what ways am I inspired by this author?
Instead of counting the number of books, I’d rather count the lessons I’ve learnt from a single book read over months.
3. Reading slowly.
I think this will be easier to do after implementing the point before. Last year I found that no matter how rich and stunning the writing was— I was always chasing the final page. Imagine waking up and telling the shining sun that you can’t wait till the moon comes back? I want to read like I’m tasting a pastry that someone spent all morning making for me. I want to sit down and focus on nothing else but the texture and each flavourful note of what I’m taking in.
4. Not always filling the quiet moments with a book.
I love reading in parks, on buses, sometimes between my turn and the person in front of me at the bank teller. I love seeing other people whip out their books in these moments– I’d even try to get a peek of what ideas they’ve chosen to fill their heads with that day. However, this year, I plan on learning to sit more with my thoughts. I plan to be more content in finding stories in the mumble of unintelligible conversations, or the crispy sound of leaves blown along the concrete by footsteps or cars zooming past. I love books, but I know they’ll survive if I don’t take them everywhere I go. And so will I.
Except at hair salons. I’ll always take a book to the salon.
5. Reading what I deem as quality writing.
Being kind to myself is also giving my mind quality. Sure, I trust my taste *flips hair*, but I have definitely allowed myself to endure books with weak plots, lazy writing or filled with the painfully obvious attempts at hopping on market trends (you know, petite red-heads discovering they’re the most powerful dragon rider of the century and will one day rule the kingdom whose name ends with ‘-ia’). While I appreciate relevancy and joining in on the fun— this year, I plan to ensure my reading lists are filled with texts that are thoughtfully written across all components— be it plot, style, characters, information and so on. If I got offered the best seats at a theatre, I wouldn’t say no. The choices we make should honour our worth and same goes for reading.
Having said that, I refuse to fall under the literary snob category. I’m sure even Gordon Ramsay appreciates garage food during a long road-trip (if not, he doesn’t know a good time). Being kind to ourselves doesn’t mean being steadfast on rules. It means establishing a frequency that feels right to us and accepting that, sometimes, it will change.
What I hope
I hope this post inspires a year of mindful reading and letting your heart, not just your goals, set the pace. I hope it inspires you to be kind to yourself and not turn reading into a chore but a gift that waits for us whenever we’re ready. I have a good feeling that this is going to be a powerful year of gentle and enriching reading. Thank you so much for reading and have a beautiful year. Chat to you soon 🙂
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