June 23rd, 2021
David Peachment
What Reading 52 Books in a Year Taught Me
A few years ago, I set out to do what I thought would be a monstrous task: reading a book every single week for a whole year. I had read a decent amount before, but the max I would ever read would be half a dozen books a year. Nowhere near the same as 52! I initially got the idea from a YouTube video describing how many of the greatest and wealthiest people spend hours reading every day. So I thought to myself, why not give it a try and see what happens?
Without further ado, here are my three outcomes of reading 52 books in a year!
I Can Achieve Anything
The first thing that reading taught me was if I can set my mind to something, I can truly do it. When I started, I didn’t even believe I could accomplish it. I thought I’d just get as close as possible. And to be fair, it was definitely a big challenge for a while there. But eventually, I got into a schedule and rhythm. I broke it down into sizable chunks (just 30-60 minutes of reading a day) and consistently read. What seemed like a ginormous undertaking got stripped down to a simple task I could do and follow every day. What followed is the realization that if I put my mind towards a goal and plan out how to achieve it, it can be done. I’ve applied that philosophy to many other areas of my life, such as diet and exercise, creative projects, and more.
Being Open to New Ideas
Another thing that I learned was the openness to new ideas. Reading differing opinions of various subjects opened my eyes to alternate ways of looking at the same problems. As a result, I was able to grow in ways I never thought I could. The books I poured through included books on subjects I wasn’t familiar with, such as politics, certain religions, culture, history, and general school subjects. My understanding of more complex issues and portions of the world became more in-depth. I could hold conversations with people from different walks of life. I got the ability to look at situations and ideas in different lights and better evaluate them. Subjects that seemed too complex previously I was able to figure out. My mind had been opened and I wasn’t going to close it.
Greatly Improved My Life
The final aspect I wanted to touch on was just how much my life improved. I learned new interpersonal skills that deepened and created new relationships, career skills that boosted my employability, and tons of new ideas I could intelligently discuss with others. My world got forever changed. Through discovering ideas and strategies for health and fitness, I lost dozens of pounds and got a lot stronger physically. By acquiring productivity tips and tricks, I was able to improve school grades and get way more out of my life. Being exposed to countless new ideas every week allowed me to constantly shift and grow into directions I had never been. All of it contributed to the quality of my life improving dramatically!
Final Thoughts
I learned tons and improved myself immensely over the course of the year. In fact, it had such a profound effect on me that I decided to continue the practice indefinitely. Since then, I just recently finished my third year in a row! And let me tell you, the benefits are astronomical, and all build on each other. I encourage everyone to give this challenge a try. Or if it feels like a bit too much, start with just 26 books a year. Once you are done, you can decide for yourself whether or not you want to continue. But I guarantee you’ll see some amazing changes in your life!
David Peachment