Most book readers (especially beginners) think that I spend my precious time reading when I can't remember a single thing from that book after some time. So I can understand your frustration. I used to think the same when I started my reading journey. I used to think reading was a waste of time if I didn't remember it.
But,
After reading 50+ books & 100+ book
summaries, I realized that books could bring health, wealth, and
happiness to our lives even if we don't remember them. All we need is to change
our perspective. I will tell you precisely what needs to be done in this post. So, keep
reading.
Difference between Studying and
Learning -
We miss
one point in our approach to reading books: there is a difference between
studying and learning. So we try to study books instead of learning from
them.
Study
is what we do in schools. We mug up the answer and try to recall
them and forget them after writing them down on exam papers.
Learning is
what we do in real life. Do we study the whole car or mug up the manual before driving a car?
No. Right? Still, we end up learning to drive.
The same approach we should keep while reading books. We should learn from them,
not study them. And we can't understand each and every lesson from all readers. So,
try to get the bigger picture out of the book. Try to learn 2-3 different
or new things or one big idea from a book stuck in your mind. Even if you
know 1 lesson from a book and apply it in your life, your life can really
change.
How do retain those two or three big ideas or lessons from
books?
What
are the chances that you will forget your name in your lifetime? Almost Zero!
Why? Your name is the only word in the world that you have
repeated the maximum number of times in your life. So naturally, what's on the tip
of the tongue has to be on top of your mind. Repetition is a friend of
memory.
When I
discuss one big idea from a book with my friend, isn't it am I revisiting the
book's text? We take notes or highlight quotes in the book, but we rarely go
back to them in the future.
Instead,
if you keep talking about what you read passionately with your friends, you highlight the text in your mind. The more you talk, the more you revisit, and
eventually, it becomes part of your character and personality.
Here
are four ideas I learned from books and how they eventually became part of my
personality.
I
remember I had read the book So good they can't ignore you when I
passed high school. I was looking for stuff like my passion and what
I should do it. I came across this book, and it changed me completely.
We all
believe that passion means doing something that you love, something you enjoy doing. But the author says the opposite. The word passion originates from the Latin word 'pati,' which means suffering. We think that
mastery stems from love, but it's another way around- love stems out of
knowledge.
When Sachin Tendulkar spent relentless hours of net practice day in and
day out, we now say that he is a passionate cricketer. One must sacrifice all
the immediate pleasure and put his blood, sweat, and tears into a skill, cause,
project, or mission. He then becomes so good at it that it is hard for the world
to ignore him. And he is awarded the word "passionate."
This one
idea from the book changed how I look at skill and passion. I
shared this many times with my friends that it has become part of my
personality.
Like
passion, the meaning is something that most people are confused about. I was
one of them before reading Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor
Frankl.
We
always ask ourselves, what is the meaning of my life? But, unfortunately, no one can be able to
answer it. The author says that you should not ask this question, but you
should recognize that you are asked. You are the one who should answer this
question. And you can answer by being responsible for life.
Responsibleness
comes from three things:
1. By
doing a work
2. By
experiencing someone or Loving someone
3. Suffering
One can
find meaning by working, loving someone, or even suffering. We can find
meaning in our suffering if we change our attitude towards it.
The idea of having meaning even in suffering has changed my outlook. Now I don't
need to find meaning because I realize my life has meaning.
We
often think that the reason for not being consistent in our habits/work or not achieving our goals is a lack of Motivation.
We
think that Motivation is the cause for results, but it's the effect. Motivation
comes after doing work; it comes after making progress. It is not a
pre-requisite. It will come to you automatically when you do your job and see a slight improvement in your career.
For example, when do you feel most motivated before or after
exercise? Then, of course, after doing exercise, the little progress we make
by exercising for one day encourages us to exercise the next day. So, the cycle
is not like Motivation and then work. Instead, it is like Work and the
Motivation to do the following work.
The same happens in the book. The Motivation is Myth by Jeff Haden.
I remember one idea from this book, and it changed how I look towards
Motivation.
We
always think If I solve all problems in my life, I will be happy. We believe that
If I earn more money or get a job or reach a certain level, my
life will be sorted. But that doesn’t happen. When you run at a
higher level, more significant problems are waiting for you to be solved.
The
point is life will never be problem-free. Struggles will be there forever, no
matter how many things you achieve in your life. So, embrace the struggles in
your life, and happiness comes from solving problems. The more significant issues
you solve, the happier you become.
This is a fantastic lesson I learned from the book The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*CK by
Mark Manson.
These were a few ideas from books that changed my life, and I have these ideas in my mind without trying to remember them.
You
don't need to remember everything from the book. Just find the one thing and
try to apply it in your life.
Written by Omkar Mirajgave
Awesome ♥️♥️
ReplyDeleteThank you :)
DeleteIts reallly great... Its so relatable... I havent read something 🤔i can't find a word
ReplyDeleteThank you. It means a lot :)
DeleteSuch a thought-provoking post ..... The difference between study and learning is very thoughtful.
ReplyDeleteThanks :)
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