“With a book, you’re never alone” - Bisila Bokoko
There are some benefits of reading good books which include:-
- THEY CAN MAKE YOUR MIND DEEPER: A deeper heart moves greater height. Reading books widen your knowledge about a particular thing. It gives you deeper understanding about it.
- THEY TEACH YOU MORE ABOUT YOUR FEILD: It widen your brain about your field of studies. A lot of students are out there with the aim of studying a particular course but they dont know what the course is all about.
- SHARPENS YOUR SKILLS: It adds more skill to you. Most especially when you read about your field and scientists who have been successful. Then it makes you know more about the skills.
- CURBS YOUR ANXIETY: It also helps to control your desire for things. You teaches you what you needs and what you dont need.
- IT HELPS YOU GROW TO THE NEXT LEVEL: It teaches you of steps to take in order to move to the next level. Actions to take in order not to remain at a spot for life.
“To acquire the habit of reading is to construct for yourself a refuge from almost all the miseries of life.” — W. Somerset Maugham
NOTE: It is important to create a steadyway and habits of reading beyond your field. This may sound somehow to you but read wide, be versatile. You don't need only your area of specialization to survive in life. Elaborate your reading faculty. Read wide. Be versatile.
Here are the eight(8) steps you need to take in order to cultivate the habits of reading:-
- DETERMINE YOUR CURRENT READING HABIT: Your reading habit is how well you read. Do you read at all?, do you read once in a while?, do you read anytime the spirit leads you?. The main reason for this is for you to be able to know how to increase your reading habit.
- DEVELOP INTEREST IN READING: There is a saying that "You can't learn anything if there is no interest in it." The more reason you have to develop the interest so that you can't constantly pursue reading. You read frequently, that us in the presence of interest but in the absence of interest, it will be like you are been forced.
- DEVELOP YOUR READING GOAL: "A man without a goal is a goat." Behind every action is a goal/purpose. Now the next step is to ask yourself "why am I reading?." This is a step of developing interest in reading. You might be reading to pass an exam or reading to widen your knowledge. Just identity the goal behind your reading as it will help you to develop more interest.
- MAKE A SCHEDULE ( READING LIST): The next step is to make a list for yourself. These are the books am going to be reading. These are the part of the books am going to be reading. You can actually go as far as outlining a number of books you are going to reading for a year. E.g. 24 or 12 books for a year. That is a book for a month. Make a reading list for yourself.
- READ ATLEAST 10-20 PAGES A DAY: This is to help your consistency. There should be a fixed page you must read per day so that you will get used to it. But this must be according to your convinency because some people are so busy that they won't be able to read more than 10 pages while some will be able to read 30- 40 pages.
- INVEST IN THINGS THAT ENCOURAGE READING: There are a lot of reading appliances that aids reading like the your mobile phone, your computer or laptop. They all aids reading but it all depends on how you are using them. Use this devices for your benefits and not them using you.
- SET READING TIME AND DATES: There should be a fixed time for reading. You can dedicate 8pm -9pm of everyday to reading. This will help you a lot. The great Microsoft manager Bill Gate has this policy in him. In a year, there is a week he call "THINK WEEK." This is a week he will be in a particular place unknown to anyone except MELINDA , his wife. This week, he will gather all the problems in every department of the whole company, and seek solution to everything. This is were most of the innovations that happens in Microsoft cones from. I also learnt recently that the great Facebook manager Mark zuckerberg and the producer of I-phone, Steve Jobs also observe this "Think week." Why don't you also start from somewhere. You can say "8pm-9pm" of my day is dedicated to reading, before you know it, you are going higher.
- GET A READING PATNER OR BOOK CLUB: A work will be easily done for two people than one. The last step is to get a partner who shares the same goal with you i.e reading. Someone who is eager to read, someone who is hungry of finding things, making research. This aids reading the more since you have competitor now.
"Books are teachers which you use in teaching/lecturing yourself in life" - Engosammy