For many years I’ve been a steady reader of books.
But this year, I noticed I’ve been doing a lot less reading of books and a lot more skimming of articles, glancing at Substack posts, and having conversations with AI. And I wondered….What impact is this having on me? Not just on the content I’m consuming but how I’m thinking? How I’m being?
So I tested it.
Four weeks ago I opened the book I started months earlier and I read a few pages. I did it for one day. Then for a second day. Then for a third day.
And within a few days I noticed a big difference. I felt a little more calm, not only in the moment, but also the rest of the day. I became distracted less easily. I felt more accomplished and deliberate. I was having more ideas both while I was reading the book and throughout the rest of the day.
A few pages a day, which started as an experiment, turned into a routine. Now, four weeks later, it’s part of a daily habit, seven days a week, where the first thing I do every morning is read a chapter and make a few notes to summarize it in my own words.
All those sensations I was having in the first few days — more calmness, more purpose, more creativity — they’ve grown and deepened.
A month ago, the idea of reading every morning let alone reading a full chapter, would have seemed like burdensome habit to maintain. What a chore. But having taken it one day at a time, one page of a time and gradually building up at a rate that was manageable… now I look at it as the obvious thing to do. Why would I want it any other way?
The more I take action, the more I discover feedback loops I didn’t expect:
- I go for a walk to get the blood flowing…and the answer to an earlier problem shows up.
- After repairing the back steps on our home, I put away my tools to avoid leaving a mess, then I realize that by putting them in their place it becomes easier to find them next time.
- I reach out to a colleague with a specific question…and discover a boost of encouragement from the interaction.
But feedback loops can be hard to anticipate in the abstract. It’s hard to know how the habit will affect you until you take action.
Because the most important part of the routine is not the outcome I get from the act. It’s the impact it has on my psyche, on my identity. It’s the tiny but significant transformation of who I believe I am now that I’ve watched myself do this thing, consistently.
It’s the difference between I can read books and I do read books.
The first is a fact about my ability. The second is a fact about my identity.
What is one small step you can take in the direction of becoming who you want to be?
And if you take that step, for 3 days in a row, what might you be able to see from there, that’s invisible from where you are now?
