When we talk about achieving a Modern Mindset, books and articles have a big part to play in us achieving it. When was the last time you took time to read?
The Modern Mindset is achieved when we understand our emotions are confident to express ourselves and are enabled to do that with or without technology.
So, when we think about the three points of a Modern Mindset they are, Emotional Intelligence, Expression and Enabled.
The topic ‘Enabled’ refers to how we are enabled to improve our emotional intelligence and expression. There are five channels to being Enabled and one of those is with Books and Articles.
There are many stories of when someone found a book that helped them in real life. Books and articles have the power to kick start us in to action depending on what we are reading and where we are at in our lives.
As human beings we crave support and understanding, although we often aren’t the best for asking for help or seeing what direction we need to take. For many a book can be the first step in starting to reach out, grow and move forward.
Many books that can do this fall in the ‘Self-Help’ category although I don’t agree that it is self-help, someone wrote it to help others and leave a trail. So I agree more with self-directed. These are usually nonfiction books although fiction has been known to help us to empathise more with characters and escape the realities of our current circumstances. Especially for teenagers as they often give a glimpse into adult life.
Inspiring stories and firsthand accounts can really help us to know we are not the only ones and give hope that life can be better when we are willing to take action to change our mindset.
Here are 5 ways that reading can help you to achieve a Modern Mindset –
1. Reduces Stress
Research suggests that it can reduce symptoms of stress by 60% after only 10 mins of reading are practised every day.
2. Increases Empathy
Listening to other people’s stories and real-life accounts can help you to empathise more with people that may be going through something you have not been through yourself. For example, I spent time reading ‘This Book Will Change Your Mind About Mental Health’ by Nathan Filer, before this, I did not fully understand those that suffered from psychosis. Now I understand that it is possible to hold down a job, have a family, and what happens when someone is having a particularly bad episode. This book did change my mind and my perspective. I highly recommend it.
3. Relatability to Action
When we read something about someone that has gone through similar to ourselves we immediately feel a connection and this relatability can help us to take action on what we may need to change. We listen to people we like and we buy into people we trust. Reading these stories gives us hope and empowers us to take action.
4. Slows Down the Aging Process
Reading has an impressive impact on our brains and in turn our abilities. It can help us to learn new words and communicate better. More specifically as we get older it aids memory which slows down the onset of dementia.
5. Improves Sleep
This is so true. I had to stop reading before bed as I kept falling asleep. I now choose to read during the daytime, the commute is good for this or at the start of my day for 30 minutes with a coffee or tea. As reading helps us to relax it also helps us to sleep.
I do understand that for many who are restless and struggle to read that articles or audiobooks may be a better source of knowledge for now. Start searching for articles that can be read in under 10 minutes and build up from there.
The Modern Mind Group blog is updated regularly and you can find topics on, business, mental health, mindset, leadership, personal and organisational development. You can check out other articles here – Modern Mind Group Blog – and sign up to be notified of new posts.
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