Need a reason to start reading?
By: David Torres
Tags: Self Improvement, Life, Fiction, Books, Reading

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It’s common to see people guided by their thoughts over a quote they saw on Facebook or even on the news from social media, instead of using our own principles and values. Because at the end of the day, who has time to question something?

“Common sense is not so common.” Voltaire (philosopher)

I have read in many blogs and studies that with reading comes a ton of advantages with it. Based on my research, I’d like to present my four top reasons why people should read.

Critical Thinking

Let’s take, for instance, the case of science fiction books.

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Science fiction makes you concentrate hard enough to understand the book’s atmosphere and the feelings and thoughts of its characters. This demands a critical focus from the reader to keep up with the book.

This will help you because reading this kind of books (e.g., Isaac Asimov, The End of Eternity) will make you apply this reasoning in your daily life; you will question your beliefs and others well. If well developed, this is a skill that can be used at work, school, relationships, and even yourself.

Empathy

Reading helps us with empathy because we must understand the emotions, ideas, and the place where the events are unfolding to fully enjoy a book. A recent study from the University of Toronto, made by Doctor Raymond Mar, shows how reading increases empathy.

This study has kids between 4 to 6 years old exposed to different stories to measure their ability to feel what other people think or feel.

Raymond proved that while the child could read more fiction stories, they tended to get better grades in the empathy tests than those who didn’t. Afterward, the doctor believes that the better our ability to feel empathy, the better our relationship with others.

Lexicon

To fully understand a good novel, it is necessary to know the meaning of the words or the general idea that the author is trying to communicate. The more we look up for these strange words, the more we will know, and they will come unconsciously in our work, school, or any other place we usually use to socialize.

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Communicating correctly can lead to more advantages that you could think of. A diligent lexicon can lead to a boost in confidence, consequently takes an increment in your self-esteem.

Self-esteem

A study conducted by Dr. Josie Willington at the University of Liverpool found that people that read for 30 minutes each day have 20% more probabilities of reporting a more satisfactory life that does who didn’t. Besides, they have 21% fewer chances of reporting depression symptoms and are 10% more likely to have greater self-esteem than those who don’t.

“If we encounter a man of rare intellect, we should ask him what books he reads.” Ralph Waldo Emerson Sticker.

Reading like any other habit is something that requires discipline and perseverance. Requires focus and is a solitary hobby. It is not easy to cultivate a healthy habit, especially when we don’t have an interest in it. However, it pays up, and it pays up quite well.