05/05/2017
What is the benefit of reading?
1) Stimulates the mind – Studies have shown that if you are constantly stimulating your mind, you slow the progress of mental diseases can even prevent them. Keeping your brain active and engaged prevents it from losing its power by sharpening its logical ability. The brain, though an organ, operates very much like a muscle – you have to exercise it to keep it healthy and strong.
2) Acquire knowledge – Everything you read fills your head with new bits of information, and you never know when it might come in handy. The more knowledge you have, the better-equipped you are and the more able you become to tackle challenges. Even if you ever were to lose everything you physically possess, your brain has an unlimited capacity for storing and using the knowledge you’ve acquired all your life. Use it!
3) Expands your vocabulary – The more you read, the more words you are exposed to. These words will inevitably make their way into your everyday vocabulary and being articulate and well-spoken is bonus point in many professions. Knowing that you communicate to your employees and your peer with confidence can be an enormous boost to your self-esteem and can aid you as you advance the career ladder. Studies have shown that those who are well-read, well-spoken and knowledgeable on a variety of topics tend to get promotions more quickly and more often than those with smaller vocabularies and lack of awareness of literature, scientific breakthroughs, and global events.
4) Sharpens writing skills – This goes hand-in-hand with the expansion of your vocabulary: exposure to published, well-written work has a positive effect on one’s own writing. Observing the various styles of other authors, journalists, poets, and writers will eventually be reflected in your own writing style. This is the same way for many artists – as musicians influence, one another and painters use techniques established by previous masters, so do writers learn how to craft prose, poetry, and news by reading the works of others.
5) Hones critical and analytical skills – Have you ever read an amazing mystery novel and solved the mystery yourself before finishing the book? If so, you were able to put your critical thinking skills to work by taking note of all the details provided and sorting them out to determine “whodunnit”. That same ability to analyze details comes in handy when it comes to critiquing the plot, determining whether it was a well-written piece if the characters were properly developed, if the storyline ran smoothly, etc. Should you ever have an opportunity to discuss the book with others, you’ll be able to state your opinions clearly, as you’ve taken the time to really consider all the aspects involved. Even in real life, critical thinking skills are essential. Being able to solve problems given certain elements are a part of daily life – from finishing a project for work to figuring out how to navigate difficult relationships, possessing critical thinking skills are necessary for all walks of life.
6) Improves memory – When you read a book, you have to remember an assortment of characters, their backgrounds, ambitions, histories, and nuances, as well as the various arcs and sub-plots that weave their way through every story. Amazingly enough, every new memory you create forges new synapses (brain pathways) and strengthens existing ones, which assists in short-term memory recall.
