How Reading Books Can Change Your Mindset and Life

It is said that books are man’s best friend. Reading books not only enhances your knowledge but also has an impact on how and what you think. You are never the same person you were after reading a good book. They alter your attitude and perspective towards life so that you can live a better and wiser life. In an interview with TIME, Bill Gates, the American business magnate reveals that he reads about 50 books a year. He says “reading fuels a sense of curiosity about the world which, I think helped drive me forward in my career and in the work that I do now with my foundation.” Here’s how book reading can help you in all aspects of your life:

Image Source: Bill Gates’ love for reading

How Reading Books Can Change Your Mindset and Life

Reading books is one of the best habits that you can include in your life. Here are some things that are impacted when you start reading a book.

Effects it has on the mind

Reading books help your mind open up to new ideas and give you a new perspective to view the world. When you read a book, you put yourself in others’ shoes which helps you view the world from a new angle. As an example, reading human psychology books can help you understand human nature and what people do what they do. This in turn can help you confront many problems related to areas in life. These problems also require teamwork or interacting with other people. Here are Some books you can read on human psychology and behavior. Thinking, fast and slow by Daniel Kahneman, and The Power of habit by Charles Duhigg.

Effects it has on personality

Many books are available today which focus on ways to build personality. Every good book has magic within itself which changes a person for a better purpose. They help a person in many aspects like decision making, communication skills, and how to behave in social situations. Some of the notable examples which one should definitely read for their personality development are 7 habits of highly effective people by Stephen R Covey and The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.

How can it help in Career and Business?

Need some advice on how to expand your business or how to gather financial intelligence to make better decisions in life? Reading books provides you with all the worldly intelligence. Books written by financial advisors is a must-read for any person looking to start his/her own business. They will help generate new ideas and also learn through others’ experiences. It is best in the case when you have an idea but don’t have a plan to implement it. Some of the best books in this aspect are Rich dad, poor dad by Robert Kiyosaki, and Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill.

How can it help in Relationship Building?

When it comes to relationship building, some people lack far behind. What people don’t understand is that skills like relationship building, influencing others, leadership skills can be gathered with time and one can only be perfect if skilled to perfection. Here also, books can prove to be very useful. According to survey conducted by Amazon across 13 countries, more than 80% credit reading for improving their relationships, and 81% look forward to discussing at least one aspect of the book with others. The book How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carnegie gives you time tested ideas on how to leave an impact and improve your relationship with others.

Books on social issues and politics

Books on history, world politics, social issues are also a great way of gaining insight on the matters of the past as well as currents affairs of the world. While this information can also be gained by reading newspapers and watching the news, reading books help in developing opinions about these topics. It raises questions in your mind which generally reading only newspapers won’t do. Books like The worst president in History: by Matt Margolis and Banker To The Poor by Mohammad Yunus have garnered a lot of praise as it helped people understand social issues in a way like never before.

Book Reading as a practice inculcated from childhood

Book reading as a habit doesn’t develop overnight. Children should be taught to read books from childhood itself. According to a new study, reading aloud to children at an early age helps in seeding in them the love for books and makes them avid readers. It also helps develop vocabulary and language skills and gives a way of thinking to their curious minds. It is also said to enhance concentration among students and also helps develop their imagination. A study published in 2019 suggested that reading to kids younger than 5 years of age boosts brain development and helped in developing language and the ability to learn. Hence, parents should encourage their children to read books and take time from their schedule to read aloud to them.

Lastly, books cover only the theory. It only covers the author’s experiences. To benefit from book reading, you should know how to apply the theories in your practical life. You can change your life after reading a book only when you apply to learn from the book to your daily life. So now that you have seen how books shape all aspects of your life, it’s time to get a book handy and immerse yourself in reading.