Last Sunday I finished the book Atomic Habits by James Clear. A book long overdue. A book I have wanted to read for a very long time. And finally, the time came around and I read the book. I had taken a moment for myself to finish the book. And I really enjoyed it, which was new for me.
When I was in high school I got forced into reading books. These literature books about the world that I thought were stupid at the time. Or some fiction book I had to read for my reading list to pass my subject. It felt so forced. So forced that I disliked reading books more and more. It helped me never want to touch books again, instead of opening a whole new world for me. And that is such a shame. I have never liked books.
But fast forward to a couple of years later. Here I am in college, trying to find out what I want to do with my life. What I want to become and who I am. How to ‘improve’ my life the best I can. If there even exists such a thing as improving oneself. Trying to do the best I can to pass all the subjects of the module. Meanwhile, there are also all these other things to life such as family and friends. Celebrating Christmas together. Then came the time to create a wish list for Christmas. I had no clue what to get this year, and that is when I stumbled upon a book called Atomic Habits.
I didn’t like books at the time. But this book caught my attention. It popped up on my feed on YouTube. And I was curious. A feeling I never experienced about a book. I hate books, why am I so interested all of a sudden? An urge to get the book and start reading, that is what I felt. And with no other gift I could think of I decided to give it a shot. And it might have been the best decision ever.
When I got the book on Christmas I got very excited and started reading. Something I did not imagine myself doing for the rest of my life. And I liked it. A book that I enjoyed reading. A book about how small changes in behaviour can have a huge impact on your life. A so-called self-help book. I read every night and flew through the book. I found a book I liked. And next to the contents of the book I was most happy about the fact that I had found a way to make reading fun again. Self-help books are really up my alley.
“Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement”
– James Clear, Atomic Habits.
The biggest takeaway about this story is that I highly recommend you to try a self-help book one day. Maybe even tomorrow. Give it a shot. Why not? What is the worst that can happen? Atomic Habits made me a fan of books again. In particular, self-help books. A book I can recommend to anyone that is not a fan of reading fiction, or has never tried a self-help book. Give it a shot!