The Sole Reason Why You Couldn’t Read Whatever You’re Reading

I believe, till this point, you have heard of uncountable reasons why you should read. You learn more, develop your character, condense a person’s life highlights in one copy, you feel good…… It does sound magical to read, ain’t it?

However, have you ever had a poor experience when you read? You wanted to read, but you keep trailing off. You forcefully read the lines, but they just don’t pass the interface on your brain. You keep forgetting what you’re reading, and you get frustrated. Bam! You end up not reading at all.

Not sure if you have experienced that, but I sure did. All the time. I always had the verge to spare a good 30 minutes to read, yet 10 mins into play, I quit. It’s just annoying how easily I dose off.

When I am commuting, I would resist my urge to open my social media, but instead, pull out a book. Unfortunately, a slight movement of the guy next to me, or a woman who’s talking just a tat loud on the phone, would yank me out of my sweet little reading session. Hence, I gave up altogether. Reading is just not for me.

I asked, “why?”

I have known people who can easily burn a book in one day. There are also “nerds” who drill on fictions and non-fictions whenever they had the slightest bit of time. I am amazed. How can they maintain such a high focus for such a long time? Meanwhile, I couldn't stop moving after 5 minutes in the same reading pose.

I asked my friends. They all said, “Well, go find a quieter place then. Or use a pen to trace.” Okay, tried, fail. Go to the library to read? The environment sounds calming and totally suitable for reading. Fail. A shorter book? Fail.

After numerous trials, there was still no apparent improvement.

But then… One day. I was on the train again, on my phone. I was on social media, just binging on the usual boring posts. Then, I scrolled across an article. It talked about the important factors to keep check-in of our lives. It was a long article with about 30-minutes read. I was ready to leave, but then the first sentence caught my attention, “How to get real balance in your life.” Sounds interesting! What is the real balance so that the original balance is fake?

Then, I started reading. (P.S. I wasn’t even aware of that)

It had been so long since I was that focused, and literally burning the whole article before I even knew it. I was relieved.

This was so-called the “flow experience”, where I am extremely concentrated in reading, other things in my surroundings seem to disappear from my consciousness.

But why? Why can I read in such a focused manner?

It’s because I was motivated. I was intrigued. I was highly interested in self-help and productive content, hence I was eager to read more and more. At first, I took a small step by being dragged in by the title, then I started to read one line by one line. Soon, I finished the article.

With this knowledge in mind, I started my reading journey by reading self-help books. Especially interesting ones. I would just tell myself to read one paragraph. During some days, I get to read two paragraphs. For some, two pages. For some days, two books (nah just kidding). But I never read less than one paragraph. I keep my habit consistent.

When I am reading a minimal amount of something interesting, I can’t help but read more. Voila!

I’ve come to realise that I have set too high of expectations for myself in the past. I wouldn't be able to read 5 pages a day suddenly after not reading for 2 months. Doesn’t make sense! However, 1 paragraph is easy peasy lemon squeezy. That’s the magic of small habits.

Reading is probably the best habit that you can develop in your life. It leads you to a world of knowledge, insight and experience you’ve never heard of before. You get to vividly experience the stories of the best, brightest people.