(And Can Transform Yours Too)
The first book I remember exploring was The Hobbit, when I was about three years old. My Mother chose to read me The Hobbit as my first bedtime book (that I can remember). She often spoke of The Lord of The Rings, and had to buy multiple copies as she read them so much to ruin.
My Mother was/is my superhero so hearing her read to me a prequel of her favourite book was captivating to say the least.
Since then growing up and going to school I remember being rather excited when we got to start reading our own books. The excitement grew thin not so long after. I became disinterested in fiction and slowly distanced myself from reading.
That distancing lasted for 16 years, every year that passed a wave of disappointment in myself would gain momentum.
It was my journey with golf that ignited a fire of discipline within me, inspiring a commitment to self-improvement that ultimately led me to pick up my first book—of my own volition—since childhood.
Golf Is Not a Game of Perfect by Bob Rotella transformed my perspective on both the sport and life itself. However, it would be nine long years before I completed another book.
So what changed? I didn’t get along well with reading fiction, I realised that I enjoyed reading books that I could relate to my interests – YES it may seem obvious to most but let me tell you I didn’t stop and really think about anything till my late twenties.
Almost two years into my professional gaming career did I decide to pick up a book. What happened next was unexpected: I couldn’t put it down.
That book was Breaking The Habit of Being Yourself by Dr.Joe Dispenza.
Every day, I felt an irresistible pull to immerse myself in the book, experiencing profound moments of realisation along the way. My skin tingled with goosebumps as I read. When I finally reached the end, disbelief washed over me—I had not only finished a book, but I had also savoured it so deeply that I wished it would never end.
I went hunting for the next. That year I ended up reading a total of 6 books – I was in shock with myself. I was, dare I say, proud of myself.
So what happened during that process? I found my daily reading pace, and created the space to read books. That space became my sanctuary in the midst of the immense amount of stress I was going through at the time, and reading gave me the tools to manage my stressors.
Something happened that I did not expect, I normally don’t adhere to a new years resolution. Since I had managed to read six books in a little over half a year for some reason I decided to challenge myself, to read one book every month of the year.
Come January there I went, on my adventure.
Every book I completed I felt an unbelievable sense of achievement, like I was curing all my pain within myself (grandiose yes, but feelings are feelings and this was huge for me).
What stood out to me about my process of choosing the book that I would spend the month reading was that I was practicing listening to my intuition. If I felt called to read a specific book, then that was that.
What I didn’t know is that I was actively learning to listen to myself, to follow my joy, follow my heart.
This was an unbelievable breakthrough.
I give thanks to reading as the catalyst to the development of my morning routine. Somewhere along the reading road I realized that my day would be better if I started it by reading a few pages and not anxiously scrolling through social media, or picking up my phone.
Another ah ha moment… To be specific: I started taking care of myself.
This started to leak in all areas of my life. How can I workout better, drink more water, take more time for myself so I can show up for others?
But the cool thing about learning about yourself is that it’s a never ending journey. When you think you’ve got it figured out something else pops up… For me it was my fear of failing.
Thanks to the current age of technology combined with reading books about bettering myself I started to learn how to deal with my fear of failure. Every time I didn’t finish a book on time I would tell myself it’s fine, just finish it and move on to the next. With no additional shame, and light hearted focus I would finish the book and move on to the next. And so I did.
By the end of the year I had read twelve books, WAIT WHAT??! I did it.
Not only did I accomplish something I set out to, but I beat the little fucker in my head telling me I couldn’t.
To sum it all up, what I gained from all of this was:
- Sense of accomplishment
- Discipline
- Equipped myself with tools to thrive and help others
If I can do it, so can you. I never in a million years thought I would be here. I still read a book every month, and I am richer in my soul than I’ve ever been before.
Whatever obstacle you have placed in your way point – it is you that has to take it down. When it comes to being disciplined, it is you deciding what you create time for, it is you loving yourself, and it is you getting to know yourself.
I promise that you are worth all the effort.