Why You Should Read Books

Most of you wouldn't be reading books. I know that because I get to hear that from many to whom I ask my basic question to communicate with anyone, "Do you read books?" If the answer is Yes then it helps me convey the conversation and I can communicate better than I can normally do with even the most familiar people in life. 

But I don't really have to ask that question to know that majority of the people don't read books these days. You must be thinking that we aren't living in the 19th or 20th century anymore when the source of entertainment was to read those stupid insipid novels. We now live in a technological world where even our existence is grasped by it. 

If I ask someone to read some book, their most basic thought in the head would be, "If today I want to know what's written in some book then I'd rather watch a 2-3 hours movie based upon it or a documentary. Who would take so much effort reading all those books, aren't we already occupied with academic books? or some might say that "Tumhare bhai sab janta hai...ye kitabo ko padhne ki jarrorat nahi use. Jindagi ne bohot kuch sikhaya hai." 

I know it because I have experienced such replies in real. And to be honest I really feel so bad, not for how they responded to me and made me feel stupid. But because of how misleading their lives are and they could bring a lot of meaning to their existence or their way of living life or even doing the things, whatever they might be. But they all won't and it's probably they don't want to replace those preconceived thoughts in their head which are embedded so strong. 

Take a moment and look back in your life. How many things are there in your life which you once firmly believed in but now you don't. Your beliefs are changed, aren't they? And now you have new beliefs which you think are the right ones and yet making the mistake of being firm on them. And then leading your life like that. 

Remember that thing that we learned today in the CDP session about limiting beliefs? Well, it is just the same thing. Once you failed in life and then you believe that you are a failure and you can't achieve anything. Trust me I was no different. But then I met my hero in a book, who lived nearly 150+ years ago in Kentucky, United States. I was so dejected in life because of my constant failures in academics, I could not understand English and I was a Marathi medium average boy. So the transition was so difficult, I was joked at and humiliated many times for my failures. And my response was just the same as any other teenager. 

I had locked myself away from everyone, even to the closest one. I spent years in reclusive tendencies. But nothing changed, just the time was passed. Until I picked up a book again that I had read years ago. There I read the story of a failed person, he had lost his job, then faced the failed business, then his dearest one, the love of his life died, he suffered a breakdown, his nomination in Congress was rejected twice, was defeated for US Senate, next he lost Vice-President nomination, again was defeated in Senate. He kept failing over and over until he won just once. 

He was elected as the president and the way he performed his role he ended up becoming the greatest President of the oldest democracy in the world could have. Some of you must have guessed his name, for those who didn't, that Hero's name was Abraham Lincoln. 

After reading his struggles I ended up ruminating that my life is not even that difficult and why am I whining about it this much? People laughed at him too but he didn't give up, people asked him to leave the things he was trying to achieve seeing his constant failures, but he didn't and he proved wrong to everyone. And today after more than one and a half-century he is still alive in the hearts of people. Then can I not even ignore those who are making me feel bad about my mistakes and failures, and stand again and work on my dreams? 

So the next day I woke up with full exuberance in me. I was so motivated and I tried to do things in that flow. That flow lasted for few days and I was back to my old behavior. There I failed again. I tried to feel motivated but I couldn't and I wondered why. I had no answer to that, I tried to read his story again but it didn't have a lasting influence on me. Something was missing. 

After a long time, I came across a quote by Zig Ziglar, "People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing, that's why we recommend it daily."

I needed the new thoughts in my head to change my bad habit but I didn't know how can I do it. So after enough time wasted I retreated to my childhood habit of reading a book after the 8 long years of the gap from books. In the beginning, it was difficult to set my mind to reading. My head was feeling heavy. I was feeling sleepy. I could not fathom what I read. I didn't even remember what I read. I still face those issues sometimes even today. 

I had thought of giving up on the reading, I could see no result. And I had given up again. I was so eager and impatient that I wanted to see the results so fast. But that's now how it works. Those struggles which I faced were exactly what I needed. Our mind is such a cunning thing, it would make you feel all these exhausting things so that you would avoid doing them and succumb to your comfort zones. 

Change is painful so is growth. And all I was feeling it because something had started to change in me but I couldn't understand it then. But those unread books haunted me and I tried again. There I came to understand that our mind always resists the good changes in us at the first and it generally takes 3 weeks period to get used to the new habit. 

When I kept reading new books what really changed is my perspective of things and consequently my reactions towards them. Which also shaped my habits and after everything else...I could finally see that result in my life that I was so eager to see. 

I wanted to do many things in life but I did not know how to do them. What could be the better way to know how to do things than books! 

I believe all of you also want to do a lot many things in life, don't you? Some of you want to know how to make friends, or someone wants to know how to move on from their past, some would be suffering from heartbreak, someone might be wondering how he/she would earn money to support their families. Someone would want to know the reason for their existence. Someone would want some hope in their lives. And all of us commonly desire LOVE in our life but sadly, we don't even know how to get it. 

Then you feel lost and try to seek things that will make you comfortable and soothe that wound in your heart. But comforts don't really cure the wounds, do they? Even the process of remedy is painful. How do you expect to heal when you were wounded by your failures, your heartbreaks, or the painful past if you won't face the process just because it's painful? 

Remember that change is always painful. You need to leave your old beliefs and get the new ones. And it keeps happening all the time in life. That's why you shouldn't stick too much to your beliefs, be flexible. For such things, Gautam Buddha or those stoic philosophers would help you a lot for how to do such things, how to learn them. "Everything is temporary," said Gautam Buddha. Your misery, your happiness, your failures or your success, even your existence. Then why make it hard when you can do things efficiently. 

Tell me one thing, all you people are learning how could you become an efficient employee in some reputed firm and what can you give yourself extra input to reach the optimum level of that mastery but have you ever asked yourself that are you living your life, one single life, which is ending one minute at a time, efficiently? 

The wisdom you learn from the years of experience is good. We all must have some experiences in life which helps us to judge things shrewdly and make better choices for ourselves. But aren't you making the same mistake of learning the exact same thing which others did from their own experience and now you are also learning the same thing with your limited time? 

You know...life is short, it is because most of the time we all waste into futile things and don't do those things that we truly like. We are so much into impressing others in our life that we forgot to please ourselves and do the things that truly make us happy. 

And we all are doing it because of the simple thing: We want to be accepted. 

But my question to you is have you accepted yourself first? 

You are changing according to the ways of how other people would accept you. Please, don't deny that, we all do this. Showing middle finger in your picture, quoting below "Fuck You haters, or you don't give a fuck"....well...I see many of them talking about their insecurities at late-night conversations. 

People suffered worse in history than what you are suffering right now. I am not saying it with the intention of belittling your sufferings. NO. I know your sufferings are real and there's no goddamn competition here. Even I suffered such judgment in my life where people even judge the intensity of your sufferings and then they make you feel bad that it's not even that intense. And I ended up writing a quote:

"Tumhare Dard me uthna Dard he nahi hai. - Log."

So why books over people? Books don't judge you, you know! They rather empathize with you. Help you. Makes you strong. 

Many of you would be suffering from the change in the behavior of your loved ones. That change does sting your heart. You realize you are not that important to that person as you once were. 

People change with time, books don't.

I could tell you the reasons why you should read books, it helps to concentrate, it helps to grow your knowledge, it entertains you, memory improvement, learning new words all sorts of things which you already know. And you would probably answer the same if one asks you the question why you should read books. But what I am trying to tell you that it will bring tranquility to your life which is missing. 

"The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts: therefore, guard accordingly, and take care that you entertain no notions unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature." - Marcus Aurelius 

Books help you to shape your thoughts and helps you to grow stronger in this harsh world. Your issues with your life, whatever they might be. There are answers to them. Just reach to the books and they will reach back to you in great ways. 

Books don't change but they change you once you read them.  

Why I felt the need to talk about reading books to you people? Well frankly speaking it wounds me that how people are missing the chance of reading all these amazing books and change their lives completely. Very few people are in touch with books these days...most are lost in cell phones. As a book lover...it's my futile effort to make at least some of you start reading books. 

I am saying it futile because I know the motivation will dry down immediately after reading this blog. Just the way it had in my life. But I am hopeful that some of you would definitely set the habit of reading, not immediately....but definitely. 

And one more thing India's most favorite president had also left the legacy of books behind him. I don't have to name him, we all know who he is. 

Aur ha kuch bura lage to ji bhar ke comment section me galiya dena. Me koshish karunga ki fir se acche se samjh saku...but books padho...it really does change your life. 😄