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Reading is hard…isn’t that true?
Moving your eyeballs from left to right and back to left a million times is hard enough — but using your brain too? This is a daunting task.
For me, reading is like exercising – I know I should do it, I know it’s good for my body and brain, and probably makes me a more well-rounded person, and once I start exercising, I even Even like it things. But at the end of the day, it’s the 5% activation energy This made me understand. OK, it’s more like 20% activation energy. I’m pretty sure it’s 20% easier to open my laptop command-T arrive NFL microphone is on YouTube videos instead of opening a book and discovering one of the chapters I have to reread a million times – because I honestly don’t even remember what happened at this point in the story.
I feel like I should put a disclaimer here. In fact, I do read – it’s one of my favorite things to do in my free time.
But what I want to say is, I feel you. Reading can be downright unappealing, especially when it’s easier to just numbly stare at pretty people doing their funny/funny/dramatic pretty-human things on the other side of the digital window in your pocket.
but my argument is not you should Read – this is what you need.
Statistics for Mental Health and Anxiety It’s boring, but you know what’s not boring? Feel them. The overwhelming amount of information I consume every morning is generally bearable as a high-pitched hum, but after a while your brain starts to feel like a chainsaw.
Entering my unfortunate morning routine: After responding to a few different text messages (a friend or two telling me a funny story, asking about my plans, etc.), I browsed through three links to the NYT newsletter (sad news, good news, controversial news) before checking out the beautifully color-coordinated Google Calendar to see what I should be doing today. Then I scrolled on Instagram for about five minutes. Even writing it out makes me feel a little sick.
We’re a crowd attacked by sound clips and snapshots (I just googled) of this very large world spinning in circles at about 1,000 miles per hour. No wonder an upper-middle-class self-care climate is sweeping the globe. Meditation, facial masks, yoga, healthy eating, waking up early,”that girl” work.
I can only speak from my own personal experience here, but I’ve found that the more I pin my hopes on self-care and healthy living, the more depressed and blue I become. It just doesn’t provide it.
The more I became aware of purposeful relaxation, the less I experienced real rest. So, I’m proposing a new kind of self-care—you can take care of yourself by giving yourself a break… away from yourself. After all, you are someone you can never escape. (This gets very meta!)
Which brings us back to…you guessed it: reading.
The act of reading forces you to turn your thoughts outward—from yourself to a story, idea, character, or intellectual thought. You know the saying, “what to eat?well i read a book More recently, it claims that “you are what you consume” – by which I mean, what you cram into your head (books, movies, tv shows, podcasts, etc.) , which determine your habits and ultimately your character.This can be exciting or frightening, depending on what kind of water are you.
The good news is, you Start choosing what fills your brain with — and the media patterns you consume.
I find reading to be an especially magical experience because it takes so long. The sheer amount of time it takes to read a book means you’ll have time to think about certain ideas or themes naturally. Often, these thoughts become a cool lens through which to view the world. Reading gives you room to think and get curious about life, relationships, science fiction concepts — whatever suits your fancy.One of my colleagues is studying A book about restaurant management. for entertaining. Weird, I know.
Another cool thing about reading is that it contrasts with visual media. It’s a great way to take a break from the constant bombardment of images and video streams. I must admit, reading reminds me not to be superficial or to care too much about my appearance. Books know that a person’s appearance is much more than that.
So, take a brain break from yourself and the crazy world we live in.
slow down.
just read it.
Daily Art Writer Pauline Kim can be reached at kpauline@umich.edu.
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