Finding yourself in a funk? Six months into the year and forgetting all your New Year’s Resolutions? You and me both!
We are officially half way through the year, and as it tends to be, most of us have fallen off our resolutions. Typical.
Whether it be going to the gym, reading, eating, or creativity related, by this point in the year life just catches up to us and keeping up with those pesky resolutions seems impossible. Worse than that, trying to find the motivation for them can sometimes be even more difficult. And that’s where I am finding myself right now.
This year, I gave myself the resolution to read 52 books. Essentially, that comes down to one book a week, or four books a month. And from January to April, it was going so well! I was even ahead of “schedule”. But as we moved further into the summer months, my motivation slumped into non-existence. In fact, I’m finding myself struggling to incentivize myself to even pick up a novel. So, how do you even start going about to fix it?
Honestly, with difficulty. But the best starting point is recognizing that with any resolution, hurdles are expected and more so, with any big decisions that require a lifestyle change, however large or insignificant, it takes more than just dedication. It requires accepting the responsibility of growth along with the progress of said resolution.
Now, before you roll your eyes, hear me out! It might sound like hoo-haa but I sincerely believe that for a resolution to be successful, you have to dedicate more than just time – there needs to be an emotional commitment, too. Especially when it comes to book related resolutions because if you’re not careful, it’ll become more of a chore than anything else and then you’re only a step away from failure.
Reading can be hard, more so than most people realize. The activity itself may feel passive but to keep reading and push yourself to explore more areas in the literary world requires more than just time. It requires an active understanding and engagement, which can be tiresome if you find it tough to muster up the energy in the first place. So, the most important thing is to let go of that pressure, and go back to the basics.
If you’re struggling with reading, go back to something you know you enjoy, that you couldn’t put down the first time you read it, or even a series your teenage self was obsessed with, and read it again.
Part of learning to love reading again requires finding what made you love reading. Even if that means trashy romance novels, or young-adult books, or even children’s series, get over any lingering stigma or embarrassment of it and just read it again. Often, we get so caught up in what we are supposed to be reading or what is considered “good” reading that we end up trying to prove something by our book choices. And while it is definitely important to diversify your bookshelves, don’t let that become a reason you stop reading.
Instead, I am making this resolution one of finding joy in every book I read. Even if I don’t enjoy it, even if it’s not my new favourite book, I’m determined to find some form of delight in every single one.
Ultimately, you don’t always have to challenge yourself to new or hard material. While challenging yourself can be immensely satisfying on its own, it is tough to do when you can barely read a few pages without nodding off or feeling zapped of energy instantly. By taking on the practice of rereading old favourites, or something that is considered an easier read, it helps to reenergize the reader within you. Reading itself will become easier and more fun; and you’ll soon realize that it doesn’t have to enrich or enlighten you in some profound way just to get enjoyment out of it. Just the same way that throwing on an old episode of your favourite show can relax you, reading can become another form of that outlet as well.
So go ahead, try it out – and remember, don’t be too hard on yourself. Life gets busy, and more often than not the goals we set out for ourselves get interrupted or hindered in some ways. The important thing is to figure out new or alternative ways to achieve them, even when we get discouraged, because it’s totally okay to not always have things go the way you planned.
Remember to take the time to care for yourself, your body and mind, and sometimes taking pleasure out of something simple and small can work volumes.
~ S ~
Photo by Christin Hume on Unsplash
