Why Is Reading Important for Your Growth?

As we bid farewell to 2023 and embrace the New Year, it's the perfect time to reflect on the year gone by and set aspirations for the one ahead. For me, this often involves crafting a reading list that promises literary adventures and intellectual growth. If you're pondering how to set meaningful reading goals for the upcoming year, look no further. Firstly, remember that any number of books you decide to read is better than none. It's not about hitting a specific target but about the joy and knowledge each book brings. Quality triumphs over quantity, and the beauty of reading lies in the diverse experiences each book imparts. Instead of fixating on a number, focus on the pleasure of discovery, the worlds you'll explore, and the perspectives you'll gain.

Want to escape without traveling anywhere? Looking to learn about a specific subject? Interested in knowing what it was like to live in the past? Reading can provide all of this and more for you! For anyone who wonders, “why is reading important?” there are many reasons.

Yet, there are also some people who read because they are told they must for school. If you fit into that last categorization, then it may be useful to understand the many benefits of reading, why people read, and what makes it so important.

Now all you have to do is…. keep reading!

The Many Benefits of Reading

Beyond reading, because you have to, the importance of reading cannot go unnoticed. Reading is of great value because it provides the means by which you get to:

Strengthens Brain Activity

Reading gets your mind working across different areas. For starters, it involves comprehension to process the words you read. Beyond that, you can use your analytical abilities, stimulate memories, and even broaden your imagination by reading words off a page.

Reading is a process that works out your brain muscles. As you do so, you can help to slow down cognitive decline and even decrease the rate at which memory fades. Who knew that reading could have physical, psychological, and spiritual benefits?

Boosts communication skills

Both reading and writing work to improve one’s communication skills. That’s why if you’re looking to become a better writer, many of the suggestions that you come across will include reading more. Reading can open your eyes, literally and figuratively, to new words.

Helps Self-Exploration

Books can be both an escape and an adventure. When you are reading, you have the opportunity to think about things in new ways, learn about cultures, events, and people you may have never otherwise heard of, and can adopt methods of thinking that help to reshape or enhance your identity.

When you read a lot, you undoubtedly learn a lot. The more you read, you can make it to the level of being considered “well-read.” This tends to mean that you know a little (or a lot) about a lot. Having a diverse set of knowledge will make you a more engaging in a conversation and can empower you to speak to more people from different backgrounds and experiences because you can connect based on shared information. Some people might say that “knowledge is power.” And the more you read, the more you know!

Entertaining

It’s no wonder why you may see people reading by the pool, on the beach, or even on a lazy Sunday afternoon. Reading is a form of entertainment that can take you to fictional worlds or past points in time.

Good Values

Reading can teach values. Whether you read from a religious text, you can learn and teach the difference between right and wrong and explore various cultural perspectives and ways of life.

Enhances Creativity

Reading has the potential to boost your levels of creativity. Whether you read about a specific craft or skill to boost it or you are reading randomly for fun, the words could spark new ideas or images in your mind. You may also start to find connections between similar things, which can make for even more creative outputs and expressions.

Lowers Stress

If you don’t think that strengthening your brain is enough of a benefit, there’s better news. Reading has also been proven to lower stress as it increases relaxation. When the brain is fully focused on a single task, like reading, the benefit from meditative qualities that reduces your level of stress.

A Look at the Most Popular Books

The Gift of Reading

Whether you had to work hard to learn to read or it came naturally, reading can be considered both a gift and a privilege. In fact, we can even bet that you read something every single day even if it’s not a book. From text messages to signs, emails to business documents, and everything in between, it’s hard to escape the need to read.

Reading opens up doors to new worlds, provides entertainment, boosts the imagination, and has positive neurological and psychological benefits. So, if anyone ever asks or you stop to think, “why is reading important” you’re now well-read on the subject to provide a detailed response and share your own purpose of reading!