Is Reading An Obstacle?
Just to clear things up, I am not saying that reading is a bad thing and should be frowned upon. Reading is an amazing thing, and I recommend that everybody read but in moderation. Reading is very helpful in helping our minds keeps active and acquire knowledge. Something that could take years to learn can be summed up in one book, ready to be learnt and revised.
Now that's out of the way; I would like to explore the harm in reading. Can incessantly reading be a bad thing? Almost everybody tells us to read and tells us about all its benefits, but is always reading a harmful thing? Also, if you read a lot, but did not absorb any of the content, is that worse than someone who doesn't read a lot, but takes in what they read?
Sometimes, I have read a book for an hour, but I did not understand the plot and I did not take in any of the information and apply it to the world. Many would see this as a hindrance as I could have been doing something much more productive instead of sitting around reading imprints of black ink on wood pulp.
Absorb The Content
If I had actually absorbed the content, the scenario above would have been less useless as I would have actually done something productive. You need to think about what you are reading, not simply read it. I spent an hour thinking I'd stimulate my mind and ended up confused and procrastinating.
Stimulating your mind is important. A brilliant way of doing this is with a book, but before you pick up a random book and tell yourself, "I'll read for an hour today," find a book you enjoy and read it for the pure thrill. If you read a book for an ulterior motive, you will not enjoy it as much reading a book because you want to.
