How Reading Has Taught Me Patience

One of my biggest struggles has always been a desire for the outcome/end product to be immediate. Whenever I set goals I tend to end up dedicated an insane (and unhealthy) amount of time to it right from the beginning and try to achieve it all at once in the shortest amount of time. It has lead to a lot of frustration, and anxiety at times. Similarly, when those goals or habits that I was working towards don’t end up sticking (as is obviously going to be the case) I end up with a bad case of feeling like a failure and angry at myself for not accomplishing what I had set out to. And with the new year and resolution season coming up very quickly, this has been on my mind even more.

I’m sure I am not alone in this feeling, but at the end of the day, my problem like so many others is that I want the pay with none/minimal amount of the work. It was reading that taught me how to turn this around.

The Journey is the Reward

The thing that keeps drawing me back to reading time and time again is that addictive feeling of getting so wrapped up into a book that you cannot drag yourself away from it. That feeling when you are immersed in the world that has been built that flipping from one page to the next feels calming, therapeutic and hypnotic.

While getting to the end of a book can be a great feeling of achievement and success, my favourite reading experiences have been when I felt the feeling described above, giving credence to the saying “the journey is the reward”.

The feeling of knowing the outcome of a story is hardly as satisfactory as experiencing it unroll. Of course, I knew this, but it was something that I forgot time and time again in my everyday life. And the more that I felt an impatience with my work and the elusive completion of said work, the more I felt that impatience seeping into my reading. So much so that I was taking for granted the health benefits of taking time to intentionally read for pleasure.

A 2009 study by the University of Sussex found that one of the benefits of reading is that it can reduce stress levels by up to 68%. To be honest, I tend to be wary of studies like this. I mean, how do you even manage to quantify stress numerically? But also I am aware of how happy and in touch reading can make me feel. And I think this is because, when I do it intentionally and give myself permission to take my time without rush or reward, I find myself enjoying time without always asking for something from it.

Taking a break from productivity is productive

I also found that when I gave myself permission to step away from needing to accomplish something all the time, I simultaneously gave myself time for self-care which in turn made me more productive later.

The modern world for the young adult is often go-go-go with more go on the side, and it can be beyond exhausting. But more dangerously, it can become a lifestyle you have no idea how to balance. As a student, part-time worker and a blogger, I know this feeling very well and can become a bit obsessed with getting my work done.

But burnout, I have learnt through personal experience, is inevitable. One of the most dangerous myths about burnout is that it comes on suddenly. Unfortunately, the opposite is true. It creeps up on you without knowing and in its throes, you are unable to function personally or professionally. Self-care at that time is just too little too late.

A benefit of reading is that has become a way for me to temper the oncoming of burnout by giving myself time to sit, relax my mind and exercise patience for what needs to come. By getting caught up in a book, I transfer my nervous energy into needing to know the next of the story, simultaneously curbing my anxiety related to getting work done, and giving myself time to relax, killing two birds with one stone.

There are so many benefits of reading but as the holiday season comes and goes, it is very easy to forget that the high-achieving attitude you set up for the New Year should be done alongside a healthy dose of patience and self-care. Take care of yourselves, everyone!

If you want more tips on self-care, check out my post on Self Care Practices for a Productive Mind.

~S~