As per Sir Richard Steele, famous writer and politician, “Reading
is to the mind what exercise is to the body”. How true! Reading many a time is underrated
but actually is a powerful trait if practiced regularly. Like exercise, reading
too defines one’s lifestyle.
It is very fascinating to realize how similar is reading to
exercise when observed deeply. Let’s take a look at a few similarities between
Exercise and Reading.
1. Burns fat – Yes it does and so does reading too
but in this case thoughts replacing fat in mind. A good book has a power of
changing the thoughts of a person. It can slay the negative thoughts and deeply
rooted misconceptions with just a single wise line. History says there are
people who influenced change in the world for good and for bad. And, often
those historians are in turn largely influenced by powerful books. Thus, like
exercise burns the fat, reading too burns positive/negative thoughts in the
mind depending upon the book in hand.
Hint: Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler. It had generated as much influence as
possible to trigger a world war and take millions of lives.
2. Mood improviser – Studies have proved time and
again that exercise helps in secreting feel good hormones in our body. These
hormones not only support weight control but also control the stress levels. Ditto
for the reading. During our childhood, it always the bedtime stories which
often our moms used to read to us or we read to ourselves that uplifted our
spirits. And, there are comic books that never fail to bring a smile on our
face. Isn’t that Mood improviser?
Hint: The Adventures of Tintin by Georges
Remi
3. Confidence booster – With constant workout,
eventually, we get to achieve our ideal shape or fitness and in the process our
confidence levels ascend too. Book reading has also same effect on confidence
factor. If this wasn’t true then there would not have been any self-help books.
Autobiographies, Biographies, Memoirs, Wisdom literature, etc. boost our
self-confidence just how workout does.
Hint: How to Win Friends and Influence
People by Dale Carnegie
4. It builds Muscles – Of course! With exercise you
start building muscles for a better and toned shape. Whereas in field of
literature, you read more and more to build your memory muscles. For muscle
training, one requires to get trained with varying weights in sets of
repetitions. Usually, memory trainers too burden their pupils with information
load and make them reiterate the course to master the art of memory.
5. Flexibility – Physical exercise and flexibility
go hand in hand. You work out, you have flexibility; if you don’t, you are as
stiff as a pole. In reading, the ratio is the more you read the more you
realize. The pages of wisdom broaden your awareness sphere making you a
progressive thinker. Your thought process becomes flexible enough to embrace any
change in your life and society.
Hint: Enclyclopedia Britannica. Remember
childhood?
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