Now no matter how old or young an individual may be, we’ve all held a book at some point in our lives. When you do, you are either one of two people:
- The person who falls in love with it instantly, delving into the story, imagining yourself in a virtual reality
- or you are the person who doses off in the middle of the book, dreaming off into your own fantasy, waking up just in time for the last few sentences to be read, counting the seconds till it’s all over.
I’ll be the first to admit, I was the second person. I did not love reading initially and similarly not at all of us do. However, this should not shut down the idea altogether. It’s important to understand that for those of us who don’t like to read, it may be because you’ve never really found anything you have liked so you simply decided that it wasn’t of any interest to you. Or maybe you never really had any time, and when you did decide to pick up a book, you may have lost interest in those concepts. In that case, a good way to start is to look at TV shows or movies that you like and find a book in a similar genre to help kick off your first few reads. And from there venture out.
So why does this even matter in the first place?
- Reading can help us think creatively
Reading can help keep our brain thinking logically and sharp, it helps expand our brain in areas such as the frontal lobe focused on creativity and logistics. We gain a better understanding of certain ideas enhancing our own thoughts and creativity.
- Helps us understand a broader perspective
Reading can also help us gain a broader perspective of the world and its views when it comes to different ideas, significant points through history, and even politics. Gaining a better understanding of the world and its origins can help us navigate the world today and communicate with others sharing our own ideas and working alongside our community.
- Reading can increase concentration
In today’s day and age, we see a significant decline in attention spans with the internet’s ability to provide us instant gratification. Scrolling through apps with 10 to 30-second videos has damaging effects on our brain in terms of attention span, but reading can help deter those effects and help long-term with a cognitive inclination as we age. Through reading, we only understand a story or novel if we apply 100% of our attention, and how long we are focused is dependent on how long we are able to block out distractions and delve into the material.
- Better communication skills
With reading comes writing, an integral skill in all areas of life. Through writing, we are not only able to communicate, but use expression to pass on our ideas and feelings to the world. It can be a form of relaxation putting our thoughts on paper and exposed for the world to see if we may choose to.
Literature in all forms can be incredibly valuable in growth as a student and as a person to help understand the world and communicate in response creatively.
Triangle Writers Studio 