“Books give a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and life to everything.”
Despite the research, documents, and experts that recommend reading books as part of your daily routine, there are staggering statistics out there about how little people read nowadays.
- 25% of adults will not read a single book this year
- 33% of high school graduates never read another book for their entire life
- 42% of college graduates never read another book after college
- 80% of US families did not buy or read a book last year
When it comes to those of us in creative field, such as designers, writers, marketers, etc., the problem isn’t that we don’t read, it’s that we spend our time reading blogs, tweets, magazines, and other short form snippets. It is in our nature to want to consume a lot of information in order to stay up to date. But this does not work our brains the same way as a book. Reading a book forces us to ditch the distractions and focus. It’s this focus that acts as a catalyst for the many perks that come from reading books, not the least of which is an increase in creativity.
Exercise Your Brain! Mental fitness is equally as important as physical fitness, and like our bodies, our brains need exercise daily to stay fit. But instead of exercising our minds, we immerse ourselves in the internet, and then we wonder why we have such a hard time coming up with creative ideas. Reading just 20-30 minutes a day can significantly increase the strength of your mind and creativity.
Increase your Concentration! We live in the information age. A fast-paced world where we’re surrounded by gadgets feeding us words, data, links, status updates, etc. It is often TOO much to digest, our mind is overwhelmed and we don’t even know it! Pick up a book, concentrate. Allow your mind to focus on ONE thing and you’d be amazed at how much deeper you can consume and absorb in-depth information.
Release Stress and Worry! Research has shown that reading is by far one of the best ways to relax your body and mind. It allows the mind to concentrate and escape into a literary world eases the tensions in the rest of the body. A recent study showed that it takes about 6 minutes of reading to slow your heart rate and relax your mind.
Be a Better Communicator! Reading not only increases your knowledge about things, people, experiences, etc., but also your vocabulary, which in turn, can make you a better communicator. In the creative world, being a good communicator is essential to our work. Your vocabulary increases exponentially the more you read. Words nurture creativity and having more words at your disposal will help you communicate effectively.
SO GO PICK UP A BOOK, READ IT, and FINISH IT! 🙂
“The more you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.” ~ Dr. Seuss
source: TheCreativeMarket.com
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