Life Skills I've Gained from Reading
These are a few things that I’ve learnt, over the years, from being a reader. In my first blog on this subject - Being a Reader - I focused on the quieter skills, here are some more practical ones. There are a few skills I get to use and share on more-or-less a daily basis.
Go above & beyond
Reading has taught me to go above and beyond when it comes to my work ethic and also the way I live my life. The motivation to do so, also implies that I have to be passionate about what I’m doing and who I’m working with - to also help them go above and beyond. This is not always easy, because as we know sometimes motivation wanes, the people around us might not be as passionate or as motivated as we are (so everything piles up on you), things change.
Nevertheless, going above and beyond is a way of life, once you become used to giving a lot you usually can’t go back. This is because it is infectious, in many ways to yourself as well as to others; and you also cannot help but notice the difference between your outlook and the way others who don’t go above and beyond do their work - and you can’t ever let yourself go back to that.
Going above and beyond also means that you know your worth. It isn’t about proving anything to anyone or even really to yourself - it’s just the way you like to do things. But you also know that your work ethic should never be taken advantage of.
Dream, dream, dream and set intentions
Every reader is never bored really - and if we do happen to be bored, we’re okay with that too. But why is this? Why are we fine with being bored in a world which is always trying to grab our attention?!
I feel that it is because we know that there’s a certain kind of power, the magical kind, right up there in our minds. How can we be bored, when we can simply imagine? Our imagination is not only entertaining, it is also a tool, a way in which we can escape the here and now and also dream.
And some dreams become a reality. I believe that when we dream big and we dream often then we are inevitably working towards that dream. This is the difference between daydreaming and dreaming with a purpose. Now not all dreams need to become real, sometimes and probably very often we dream for the fun of it, but just imagine...what if it could be real?
Imagination/dreaming is also very powerful because it will always be your own - no one can ever take that away from you.
Give
Reading has also taught me the importance of giving of my time to others. This is a hard one, especially because very often there is so little time left in a day - time to work, time for oneself, time spent with family and/or friends, but what about those in need?
The possibility of finding some time to give to others - if on a regular or not so regular basis - is a beautiful thing. You’re telling those people or animals that someone cares - and that is a gift in itself.
How have I become the beneficiary of such skills thanks to reading? Well, it’s most probably thanks to the mix of theory, fiction and non-fiction really. When I was young I got to read a lot of fiction - through home and school mainly. My grandfather only read non-fiction - memoirs, biographies and the like - and even though these are not my kind of books and I only read excerpts, I relish going through his library to this day - learning about other cultures and individuals. Then through 6th form and university I was exposed to a lot of theory which I loved and now it’s even kind of weird to go back to novels at times. But I know that variety is key and it’s also very good to keep the mind attentive and challenged too.
