As a young person before the age of 10/11, I loved to read. By the time I was nine years old, I was teaching second graders how to read who needed assistance. We would sit in the hallway outside of their classroom sounding out words in their softcover books. Wow, what a memory.
By the time I was 11, I was failing reading and hated to read. It was the bane of my existence. But because I tried hard and wanted to succeed, I read. We had the Accelerated Reader Program where you read books, took tests, and earned rewards. That was a REAL motivator for me. I even won a trip to Atlanta because I met my yearly goal in the 8th grade.
In high school, I speed read books for my lit classes because I procrastinated…a lot. Cliff notes were my friend and I always seemed to edge by with a decent grade. My teacher was HARD, as she was in the College Prep AP teacher who got kids into Ivey League schools when she was up north. I do have so say she prepared me for college. That was a BREEZE.
Throughout this time, I was growing up in a Christian household and reading and studying for the meetings was imperative. I loved that but reading the Bible daily…missed the mark A LOT. It wasn’t until I was in my late 20s that I was able to make it a habit of reading the Bible daily. It took a schedule that did not allow me to read in a liner fashion. I was, and still am, so proud of meeting that goal-reading the entire Bible and doing so in a year. (I still read the Bible every day and still study the Bible as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. But let’s be real…sometimes it’s still hard to start.)
How did I know I wanted to read more for fun? It was when I chose to sit by the indoor pool in February to read instead of joining my friend for a swim because I LOVE water.
Now, I want to be able to read more for fun in addition to my Bible reading and studies. Recently I have been part of a book club off and on since the pandemic started. That has kicked up my desire to read and now I want to move onto fiction instead of something that is geared towards personal or business growth.
One of my self-care activities this month as part of the Nourishment Nest (check out @janinahcoaching on IG) is to buy a book. I have 10 days left to do this and it is my goal…to buy a fiction book so that I can read more.
The Mindfully Productive Era 