Summer of Reading

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This was a summer of reading.  To be fair most of my summers are full of reading.  It has been this way since I was a child but this summer was a summer of a different kind of reading.  It was the summer of discovering a different sort of book. This summer I read books that might help me to be better at starting my business.  This was the summer I read books that would help me develop better work habits, find my grit and discover the original within myself.

Summer Reading List

I read three main books, The Power of Habits, The Originals and GRIT.  Interestingly all three of these books left me wanting more.  Not more in the sense that they didn't tell me enough but in the sense that I didn't feel as though I fully sucked the marrow out of each book.  Each book left me understanding that I would have to reread them, over and over again.  And I am okay with that. I look forward to these rereads.

However, one of these books changed the way I have been living my life.  Or maybe it made me recognize the change in my life.  To be honest I am not sure.  What I do know is that I have recognized a change in my life in the past few months and I believe the changes are all based on an initial habit.

Accidental Habit

On April 24th I went for a ride with my youngest son.  It was just meant to get me out of the house.  I was tired of dealing with a recent injury and thought biking might help.  That day, my son fell in love with riding and decided we should ride every day.  It has been 137 days and we have kept up this habit.  But better than that I have found that building a habit of bike riding has leaked out into the rest of my life.

A Better Mom, Wife, Business Owner

I used to say that running made me a better mom, wife and friend.  Now that I am not running I am learning that having good habits makes me better at so many things.  Creating the habit of riding lead to a habit of eating better which lead to a habit of spending less money which in turn lead to a habit of having a cleaner house.

Maybe I would have recognized this without the help of The Power of Habits.  But I love having the backing of that book.  I love finding that this isn't just a coincidence but something we can work towards.I love that now I think about the habits I want to build and the ones I want to lose.

Building Better Habits and Losing the Lesser Ones

I have always loved reading.  I have loved getting lost in a story and leaving the hectic nature of the real world.  Because of that I have seldom found joy in reading self-help, business or other non-fiction books.  It has been interesting to build a new habit of reading books that would normally not make it to my summer reading list.  It has been fun to see that that habit can lead to so many others.

So many of the bad habits I have run me in circles.  So many lead me down a road of guilt and shame.  Of course I still have bad habits.  I assume most of us do.  But reading The Power of Habits has at least made me think about them.  Reading this book has given me something to think about and isn't that the first step anyway.