Life Transformations Through Reading
I think sometimes we think there’s one book that just changes your entire life, and you can point to that exact moment that your life shifted. While I think that can be true, what is more likely that reading brings a series of small epiphanies to you, which alter the course of your life by one degree: a seemingly small shift with an enormous long-term impact. I’m sharing here some books and what they brought to me.
This is not so much a reading list, as it is examples of how reading changes us if we continue to ruminate on ideas that we read. This can be true of our lifestyle, or our finances, or our relationships, or how we see ourselves. Moments like this in my life really remind me of the power of reading and what a blessing it has been throughout my life.
In my late twenties I read Rising Strong by Brene Brown, and one of the most memorable things from that book was this phrase, “the story I’m telling myself.” It spoke to something our brain does when we lack information — it makes up a story to fill the gap. What was transformative about this is that it taught me that I don’t have to believe every thought that I have, and it also allowed me to recognize when I’m telling myself a story, and think of other stories that could be equally likely with the information that I actually had. This allowed me to be much more generous with other people, because instead of thinking of the worst story and reacting as if it were true, I learned to pause, and not react until I had more information. It also encouraged me to get curious about the story patterns that I had. Why did those patterns exist? Were they helpful? Could I change them?
I read Designing Your Life by Bill Burnett in my early thirties, when I had a little more money, and thus more freedom in my life to feel like I could design it. One of the takeaways from that book is that the best choice for me might not be the objectively best choice in the situation. So now when I face a difficult decision about my life writ large, I consider what is the best (most rational) choice, vs what is actually the best choice for the life that I want to have. Does the most rational choice also reflect what I value? How do I choose based on those values instead?
Chances are the you also have subtle life transformations that you’ve experienced through reading, even if the last one you had was during your formative years in school. Take a moment to think about the small nudges you’ve experienced throughout your life that have changed things for you.
