OH WELL!

I’m a before-bed reader. (Did you know that reading has been shown to cut stress levels in half in about six minutes??) I prefer to read fiction, especially at night. I love a good story. Sometimes I can read 100 pages before my eyes start to droop, sometimes just 1.


If you didn’t see my video in the Easeful Living Society Facebook group (if you’re not in the Facebook group, go join!) on Wednesday, you may have missed my spiffy little bookmark where I’ve kept track of my reading over the last two years. I like to read about two books per month. Reading and learning is something I value, and the amount of books I read is a measure of that.


This week, I finally finished a book that I seemed to be reading for months. As I added it to my bookmark, I realized I was way off track from my goal. In 2022 I read 25 novels. Awesome! In November of 2023, I’ve read 14. What happened?


A few things, actually.

• Have you ever finished an incredible book and then fallen into a book rut? Before this book, I read Beautiful Country (highly recommend) and struggled to get into another book.
• I started a few different books that I didn’t finish. Initially, it seemed like wasted time, and yet, I needed to spend that time to figure out they weren’t for me and get them off my bookshelf!
• I finally found one I could stick with, and it still took me a while to get into it. It was good, not great, so I just read a few pages every night, which was enough to help me wind down before bed but not “good enough” for me to finish the book in two weeks.

OH WELL.
It took me a few tries to get back on the reading wagon. And when I did, it was slow going. But I got where I wanted, which was the end of the book. And I’m glad I did because it was a good story!
This goes for any habit you want to start or restart or continue. First, you set a goal and release attachment to the outcome. The goal helps you figure out the first step. And then you just focus there. Choose a book and start reading. Choose a new type of exercise to try. Make a new recipe. Et cetera.


When it doesn’t work right away, sometimes you give it a little more time and effort to see if you can make it work. And if it doesn’t, you scrap it and move on to the next approach. You learned what doesn’t work, and you keep moving forward to find what does.


And when you finally find something that works, it may still take a while to find your rhythm. But if you just keep moving forward, taking small steps, reading just a few pages at a time, you’ll get “there.” “There” is not the end–it’s just a more expanded version of yourself.


And it really doesn’t matter how long it takes. Because you’ve got your whole life to figure it out.
I only read 14 books in 10 months. Oh well. December 31 isn’t the end of my reading journey. I have many years ahead to fill up the rest of this bookmark, and many more bookmarks after that.

What's your favorite genre to read? Comment below!