Another reason why we should read
It is no wonder that we all crave for a quality life, in which we see ourselves thriving and reaching our goals. But reaching this stage doesn’t come in a vacuum. In fact, we should take some steps, be equipped with some skills, and have a clear vision of what we want. And among the things we should be careful about is the way we behave, because the results we produce - either the good or the bad ones - are the outcome of our behaviour, and our behaviour is the product of the way we think and perceive things – in other words, our beliefs.
The beliefs we hold are the source of our
actions. The way we think, the way we treat people, the way we communicate with
others are all under the control of our beliefs. But what we should bear in
mind is that a belief can be either empowering or disempowering. An empowering
belief will lead us to a more prosperous life that is laden with achievements
and long-lasting improvement, whereas a disempowering belief will continuously
hold us back from pursuing
our goals.
A limiting belief should be removed once
for all, because if it is not dealt with hurriedly, it culminates in sabotaging
our capacity to shape the life we want, as well as undermining our confidence
in our potential for personal growth.
To be able to change a limiting belief we
need to ask the following question: where do our beliefs come from?
In truth, there are many factors that influence
the way we think and see things. We see the world through the prism of our environment,
past events and experiences, and the knowledge we acquire. Once we understand
how these factors function, we can realise what beliefs prevent us from making
headways towards our ambitions, we must find resourceful alternatives to
replace them. However, finding a new alternative isn’t enough at all, because
to benefit from a new belief we must fortify it. This process requires what we
call “references”.
References are the best teachers to count
on to reinforce our thoughts and our new beliefs. The best strategy is to
extract references from the experiences of successful people, the way they see
life and deal with their daily struggles. Furthermore, when we surround ourselves
with impressive references, we plainly start to see life differently, and thus yielding
the fruits of change. Reading is the best source of references.
Reading is a reservoir of references:
When we pick a book and start devouring
words, sentences, paragraphs and pages, we are consciously or unconsciously
feeding our mind with much more sophisticated binoculars to see distant goals
more clearly. We start to discover new paths and experiences through the lives
of others. When we read up on a successful businessman, a great leader, or a well-known
writer, we start to grasp how these people made it through their hard times,
how they developed such impressive skills and produced great chefs-d’oeuvre,
how they led their nations to victories and prosperity.
Reading is duplicating:
Duplicating is a process through which we
can discover and copy what successful people do to produce spectacular results.
Reading is the best tool to discover the traits that epitomise successful
people and set them apart from others. We can implement their strategies, use
their approaches, and adopt their behaviour to reach our own goals. If we use
the recipes another person uses to produce a particular result, it is possible
to get the same outcome.
The power of interpretation:
I prefer to read the autobiographies of
successful people to learn what exactly sets them apart from others. I believe
that among the things that make them prominent figures is their ability to
interpret events and tragedies in a very special manner. For ordinary people
prison is a horrible place that deprives one of freedom. But for Malcom X it
was a life-changing experience. It was there where he grew an intellectual and
voracious reader. His interpretation of prison was a library. For Soichiro
Honda, war and air strikes were a gift. During the second world war, his plant
was bombed twice, but instead of blaming and cursing the enemy, he saw the
gasoline cans discarded by the Americans as the raw materials he needed for his manufacturing. Thanks to this interpretation
he left his mark on the Japanese and international industry.
It is time to use this potent strategy to
see challenges from different angles, and no matter how bad the situation is,
start to redefine it in a way that could empower you, lift up your spirits and
make you much stronger.
All in all, what we must bear in mind is
that we are the creators of our destiny. We can be at the helm of our ship just
by a simple shift in the way we think and weigh things. It’s time to experience
life and its vicissitudes in a different way. It’s time to resort to reading as
a reliable tool and make it work in your favour, and remember well: you are
what you read and interpret.
By Ismail KAMAL
