Books: Buy and Dont Read

What is the first thing you do in the morning?

Me? I find books I can buy. Yes, I did say buy, not read. It is not possible to read all the books I have bought. There is a Japanese term for it.

Tsundoku (積ん読), buying books that you wont read.

So am I crazy? Well yes and no. We are shaped by the thougths and ideas that enter our lifestream.

The effect occurs at both the concept level as well as through details.

So take a book like Tiny Habits by BJ Fogg. BJ Fogg is the founding father of of habit research.

The book explains in great detail how you can build long-term habits by starting with small ones. If you read the book, you would understand the concept of failure.

For example, if you tell yourself you will walk a hundred steps and do, your brain will reward you. If you tell yourself you will walk a thousand and walk half that, it will feel like failure.

I see this everyday when we set goals to change people’s lives. But the point is that if your brain understood that tiny habits are valuable, you are already off to the races. You could reinforce it by actualy reading the book.

But that is what a book is. A concept about something.

Concepts are powerful tools. The concepts I am seeking to learn about are the ones that matter to me. Growth, development, communication for example.

So how can this be useful to you?

Depending on what you want to learn, look for books that encapsulate concepts.

My book for example was largely about helping people believe that it was possible to be healthy at a time when this was not commonly accepted.

Read the summary. It will give you a gist of the concept. If you have time, skim the book. If you dont, summarize the concept in your words.

See how or whether it applies to your life. While books change lives, the concept contained can also do the same.

Reach out to me on twitter @rbawri Instagram @riteshbawriofficial and YouTube at www.youtube.com/breatheagain