Why you should read
When it comes to reading the written word, the best type of reading that you can do is in the long format of a book. I'm here to tell you how it can change your life for the better. Aside from the normal benefits that we already know about like improved brain connectivity, reduced stress and prevention of cognitive decline. Reading also aids in sleep along with increases your vocabulary and empathy. But we already knew that let's talk about how reading can really benefits your life and why you should read.
I used to be the student that never read because I couldn't I was dyslexic. Reading was painful, a struggle and slow. So I never picked up a book to learn how to, it wasn't until I left university that I started to read, yes I got through my enter education avoiding literature. It wasn't until my early 30's that I started to read books, something happened I found that reading articles online were predominantly opinion-based, without the backing of science or truth beyond one article link. I would dive deep into articles saying they were true factual, and once I followed the source material I overwhelming found miss quotes, or facts taken out of context. So I stopped reading online articles, the news anyone starting their sentence with "Did you know?" Because as soon as I questioned where they got their facts from, and the response was an article or the internet. I switched off. I needed something else to get knowledge from, so I turned to the thing that has been around for thousands of years, the book.
Now I'm not saying that books are 100% fact, always the truth or anything like that. Many books are fiction or pseudoscience or pushing one person's agenda. But if you read enough books these falsehoods become pretty transparent to you. So here is why I think you should read more, and the benefits I found to be true to me.
Reading just the headlines or lists like this are bullshit.
Or I can't believe you skipped to this section of the article.
Again any written article that has lists are just click-bait.
With that out of the way let's get to the point, enough backstory and context. Reading long-format non-fiction content will teach you and open up your mind. They say knowledge is power but for me knowledge is freedom. Not in terms of an escape like fiction, tv, movies or a game, true freedom. Freedom to understand how your brain works, how the world works, why people are the way they are. Why someone has wronged you and how to cope and understand that from their perspective. Knowledge has made me a more compassionate person. It put yourself into someone else's shoes. If you read enough you can put yourself in someone world without the need for a book.
We only know what we have been taught. For example, racism is learned, hatred towards a group of people is learned. Ignorance just means lack of knowledge. You shouldn't hate someone because they are uneducated, rather teach them, show them, and at the very least see the world from their point of view, even if that view is narrow and small. It will help you let go of frustration.
Reading has helped me become a better person. I have to make this point read books from people you don't agree with. I have read a number of books from authors that I don't agree with in regards to their view of the world or other people. It's my attempt to try and understand them. Many authors I disagree with I learn something or take away some common group even if that foundation is small. Why should you read, because reading long format non-fiction books makes you a more compassionate and better human being? So pick up that book, turn on that e-book or pull out that library card, it will change your perspective and in turn your life.