READING MISTAKES I MADE

Hey guys, how ya doing??

Please tell me you improved on your reading game after reading my last post. That's so beautiful. I'm happy for you.

Today, it's still about reading but from another angle. I hope you learn a thing or two.

So, since I talk so much about my love for reading, I only thought it wise to also share the flip side of it. A.k.a mistakes, so that we can have a balanced equation and I don't appear like I've had it all put together since 1902. I just heard you say "thank God" ..lol.

So yes darling, I'm still very heavily invested in putting in the work in this area and there are a couple of ways I didn't do so well as I'd have loved to. In retrospect, I have learnt my lessons, am making the necessary adjustments and that's the purpose of this post.

This is the point where you put on your seat belt, relax and take a glass of water as we move...

Reading can be really nice, especially when you're reading something you really like. But with every thing that has an advantage, there just might be a disadvantage to it. Now, for reading that is such a beautiful thing, it doesn't necessarily have a disadvantage, but it sure has a not-so-good way of going about it and I wallowed in those ways for a while before the Lord opened my eyes.

Mistake number one.

Giving into the temptation to fall for the copy-cat syndrome. Now, I don't know about you, but when I read something, I want to do everything I learn. And I kinda tilt towards imitating the characters or replicating the principles in my life by force. 

So I could read that ABC did or didn't do XYZ and boom! Nancy would go on to throw down some drama. 90 percent of the time, it's even unconscious. That's so unwise and can be overwhelming, now I know. Plus it's not even possible, because some lessons are not even for me.

I've learnt that not everything in a book is for you. No matter how good the book is, and even if it is something for you, chances are that the hour has not come yet. Be like an old cow: chew the hay and spit out the sticks. Pick out the lessons specific to you, apply it the best way that'd suit you and your current season and move.

Mistake number two.

Being under pressure to read every book I see and come across. Oh! This was the greatest of all struggles. Like I said in my previous post, I'm on a mission to redeem the time I lost indulging in an overdose of telenovellas and so the pressure was real. 

I would go through the books I have and be like "God please o, help me, time is going" and any day I skipped reading, or didn't read enough, I'd be hard on myself, like really hard on myself. This was quite intense, especially last year during the lockdown until I came across this Bible verse in one article I read. Ecclesiastes 12:12

But, my child, let me give you some further advice: Be careful, for writing books is endless, and much study wears you out.

NLT

Wow! The Word of God sha...you'd agree with this that there's really no end to the writing of books. I mean, new authors emerge everyday and former authors still publish books on a regular. So no one can read every book there is out there. Put off the pressure darling.

Today, I have over 500 books on my laptop, phone and Google drive altogether. I'm on a WhatsApp group and Telegram channel where books are sent every other day at least, because they are reading groups, and I have friends that recommend books to me too. But I've been cured from that pressure.

I know I won't read the majority of the books I have, I keep them for people in my circle that would need and request them someday. So I don't even try. I just ensure whatever book I decide to read is one I really do need in that season and can afford to read. There are books I send out and recommend today that I haven't read and I'm under no pressure to read.

So know that you cannot read everything, just be on the look out for what you should be reading. If you read every other book but not the one you really should read, you'd just be having fun. So, be sensitive and careful.

Mistake number three.

Jumping from one book to the next. Or should I say hoping like a frog?…

About 90% of my reads are e-copies. PDF and EPUB especially. And so I read on my phone or laptop a lot. Now, since I haven't gotten to the point where I'd read a book in one sitting, after a particular reading time, I find myself hopping onto another book by the next reading schedule instead of continuing with the former one and so I used to be reading several books at the same time.

Like I could read like 5 books at the same time and with each new book I opened, I'd most likely forget the previous one. And nope, I wasn't done milking out the lessons from it. I had to stop because that's an unfruitful place to be in, no jokes. I decided to set up a system to ensure I finish every book I start before I check out another one, no matter what. It has even helped me read faster 'cos if there's a book I really can't wait to read, I end up reading others on the list before it faster.

Mistake number four.

Not distributing my reading investment evenly. 

Just like you know, we are all multifaceted and so there are several boxes that make up your life. Ranging from finances, career, marriage, health and fitness, to business etc. 

To have a properly balanced life, all areas must be in alignment and be adequately developed or else there'd be an imbalance. You don't want to be highly knowledgeable about finance and float in conversations about health due to a wide knowledge gap. 

For a very long time, the bulk of my reading investment was chanelled to only one area of my life. I read and listened to everything I came across on that subject without considering the other areas. Now that I've discovered, I'm here for you not to fall into that same pit. 

In the last 5 years, up until recently, about 80% of the sermons, books and podcasts  on my phone were centered around marriage, relationship, courtship and family. I'm passionate about that particular interest and my investment there is solid. Like, I love love. Bulk of my teachers are also in the marriage line. And by default, I listen to something in that area every other day at least.

But…

The hour has come to pour into other areas of my life. So, no matter how it's 'doing' me now to read a book by pastor K, I put myself under subjection and focus on John Maxwell or some other author.

I attempted to read a book on finance for the first time last year and that was the eye opener. I realized there was a larger knowledge gap in that area and so I sought to reduce it as much as possible.

Read wide, read vast. Read about everything and let there be an even distribution of your reading investment in every area of your life. Know a little about a lot. Get knowledge on finance, as well as on health, business, marriage, relationship etc. Balance the boxes as you should.

So when next you want to draw up your reading list, have an ariel view of your life, know where there's a larger knowledge gap and put in efforts to reduce the gap. Search for books on those topics and do justice to them. You might need to read more on finance than on marriage for now. Make the adjustment. You want to be well rounded in knowledge as much as possible.

Mistake number five.

Reading only books by authors I love. It is a known fact that love increases interest and in turn investment. So people tend to stick with only what they love. And the truth is, that knowledge sticks more cos there's an emotional connection with the subject. Love powers continuity too. You continue doing what you love and enjoy. 

Same as with people. We invest more into people we love. And I found myself in this ship as regards books and reading. If there's an author I already love, chances that I have read most of their books is high. Nice move, but not so profitable.

You'd agree with me that you don't have to love all you need. I mean, how many of your lecturers did you love in the university? But you took their courses anyway and passed them well.

For a  long time too, I'd read books by specific authors only. Like whatever an author I already love wrote, I'm super eager to read it.

Right now, everything John C Maxwell writes has my heart and soul. I love his wisdom and writing style. So I read his books most times. And I especially love that he writes so much on leadership.

I learnt to not just read what I love but what I need. Irrespective of the author.

Right now, the area of finance is one I'm being intentional about investing in.

Do I love finance authors? I don't even know them enough to love them, but I need what they write about and so I learn from them. Without even trying to stalk them on social media. Cos seriously, it ain't even necessary.

Mistake number six.

Not capturing salient points in my journal. This one happens mostly when I'm tired. I just read casually and truth is, it slows me down. Cos, I'd still need to refresh my memory and re-read certain pages when next I take up the book to read. Repitition aids retention. And it's way easier to have a summary of the book you can go back to when you need to than having to go through the entire book again.

I jot on most days, but when I cannot kill myself, I just read like that. I started taking screenshots though, to write later, but, it's still a waste of time for me. So best thing is to write when I need to or just read when I can read well. Except of course, when I read fiction.

Mistake number seven.

Not scheduling reading time. I have discovered that days I don't have it fixed in my habit tracker or to-do list, it's easier to skip reading completely. I'd even wake up the next day and be like: "how didn't I read yesterday?" I had been cheating myself by not scheduling it and so I decided to be more intentional. 

An intentional life is simply a disciplined life. Discipline shows in your time management game and the structures you put in place to ace that game. Whatever is important to you should have a place in your schedule or else you're as good as planning to fail at it.

Please don't tell yourself there's no time to read. If there's time to eat and tweet, there's definitely time to read. Fix it in your schedule, write it on your to-do list and you'd discover that you'd have an unrest in your heart when you're missing out on something already scheduled. I know from experience.

I really do hope you've learnt something from all these. Do tell me in the comments section. Did you also make any reading mistake? Your comment will help us avoid it...

Cheers to your proper reading adventure!

Love and Light

Nancita✨