Is reading books your hobby? Or are you someone who dislikes even the thought of reading books? For both types of people, we have compiled the best 10 mind-blowing benefits of reading books. These shall increase your love for books if you are a bibliophile. On the other hand, if you get bored with books, then this article shall motivate you to develop a reading habit or at least make you pick something to read. So without any further ado, let’s relish the tasty juice of books:
Mental Health:- Yes you read it right. You must have noticed how you forget your tensions when you start reading a book. This happens because you come into a different world. Although it could be a boring topic for you, still it somehow manages to keep your tensions aside. The reason is you are reading and not thinking about anything else. Even if you are not that focused, there is still a connection with the book since you are holding it. It goes without saying that every tension is due to a problem. Isn’t it? So when you forget it while reading, it eventually leads to less mental chaos. This reading time might even give you a solution to the problem without being worried about it. And who knows, the book could provide you a solution either directly or indirectly. Self-help books are the best here. Moreover, fiction can also do it through its plot, various characters and their psychology or behaviour. However, any book can solve your problem. It just depends on you, your problem or the way you get inspired by the book. Reading habit makes you less habituated to take tension and be more solution-oriented. It also avoids depression and old-age cognitive decline and inculcates positive thinking in the long run. See how reading books can gradually improve your mental health.
Out-of-the-box thinking:- What do you think is needed to think out-of-the-box or creatively? A lot of data, right? Now data doesn’t mean tables, graphs etc. It could be anything ranging from a picture to a word. In short, whatever you can think of. Reading books is one of the best methods to facilitate this data collection because books expose you to a plethora of things. It even gives you new perspectives to look at various matters. After raw materials are collected for our brain, it tries to form new connections. These connecting dots give rise to a fresh new idea. However, the idea depends upon you also. The more data you have, the better the idea will be. So read more and be creative. You may be knowing the importance of creativity in professional life. It is like the icing on the cake of your work life. Many world-famous CEOs like Elon Musk firmly believe in the value addition by reading books in their career. Therefore, reading is highly recommended for your professional journey.
Empathy:- In every sphere of life, empathy is one of the soft skills that make you a good human being. In fiction or storybooks, there are descriptions of various characters and their feelings. You often find that antagonists also have positive qualities and protagonists have negative ones too. Even if a character is not acceptable to others, it doesn’t mean that the character is bad. It could be the case that s/he is just not in tune with societal norms. Or something in the past might have happened which antagonized that person. Long story short, every character has both positive and negative traits. It is just the dominance of one of the traits that characterizes the character as positive, negative or even grey-shaded. Thus, when you read stories, you understand every character. You get to know why they behave in a particular manner. With time, this thought process gets applied in real life also. Although you do not know the psyche behind a person’s actions, still you can anticipate it very well. You then respond accordingly. You would not react if the person is not acting according to you. Your understanding increases towards others i.e., you put yourself in their shoes. That’s how empathy works. This also increases your emotional intelligence. See how books can change your behaviour, provided you develop consistent reading habits. Interesting! Isn’t it?
Communication Skills:- No matter which field you are in, communication is something you can’t escape. This is evident through interviews only where you have to sell yourself to get selected. Thus, to survive in the job market, it is imperative to be a good communicator (both oral and written). In addition, these skills play a crucial role in promotions, especially in managerial positions. Reading books can also help you develop communication skills. As stated above, books provide you different perspectives and creative thinking which help you bring more points to the table. This shall give you an edge in group discussions. In addition, language skills are also honed through reading. While speaking, you would not fall short of words because you would have developed an awesome vocabulary. Grammar would also not lose track while speaking since you have internalised the correct grammar through reading. The same applies to writing also. Your writing skills would be flawless with correct grammar and ornament-like vocabulary. That’s why successful people always reiterate the importance of reading books.
Entertainment:- Who doesn’t love dopamine? Reading books can be entertaining, provided you read books that are of your interest. If you don’t know what books to choose, then wait for our next article on how to choose books of your interest. If not for the above steps, at least read for entertainment. If you choose books that interest you, you would be hooked and along with entertainment, the above-mentioned benefits would also be there. A complete package! Isn’t it?
Well that said, you must have got the motivation to read books. And don’t think you can’t develop reading habits. If you have read this article till here, it means you have the potential to read even more. Start simple and then slowly upscale. Happy reading!
And please do let us know your favourite genre in the comment section below.
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