DeFi

 

        How I read 20 books in 2023, when I haven’t read 20 in last 20 years!

 
No, it's not about books.Reflecting on what worked to replicate with other goals. Hope it helps someone else too 😊

Starting small:
Journey started 3 years ago. It started with a leader tweeting about the book “Factfulness”. It intrigued me, but I ignored. A month later, a friend asked me to join a book club.Guess the book? Factfullness. I ordered the book, somehow club didn’t continue but I read the book.

The Why:
I started liking the experience of gaining new knowledge. This book challenged the facts we believe, assume to be true. I started searching for my next book.That year I read 3 books.

Confidence breeds Confidence:
One I was thrilled to call myself a reader now & convinced to continue to learn from different life stories. Reading 3 books without any planning, gave me confidence that I can do better.

Setting motivating goals:
Next year Goal -10 Books, ended up at 6. I didn’t meet my goal, but I doubled the number.I was pushing myself.

Accept challenge & Leap of faith:
I came across a post from a person who I admire a lot, about celebrating 75 books.That shook me.I almost felt insane on how it is even possible.But then I thought, had I maintained a consistent pace, I might have done 10 books. Which means I can at least dare to target 20 if not 75 for this year. Being a salesperson, loved a bit of number pressure.

Face difficult things first:
The books I read had avg 250 pages. The first book I decided to read this year was “Freedom at Midnight” 500 pages. For the same reason I dismissed my husband’s suggestion to read it for 18 yrs.I decided to check this challenge. To my surprise I learnt some part of history which I wasn’t aware.Completing this book in Jan gave me confidence that I can easily do 2 books a month. I secretly aspired to read 24 books now.

Goal Tracking & Commitment:
By June completed 10. There were months,I struggled to complete a book, but I covered that up in subsequent month.I also started being kind to myself telling it’s not a race let’s do 20 if not more & reach the finish line.

Leading with curiosity:
I had fun deciding & ordering my next book.I was curious & kept looking for suggestions. Trusting my intuition,was more open to experiment. I took risk, which helped me buy books I wouldn’t personally pick up.

Mindset & working towards Success:
Planning of next book before the earlier book gets finished. Sometime there would be delay while ordering,plan for back up book. Even if I wanted to read another one before a specific book, trust the universe and go with the flow. I made time for this along with other priorities.

Consistently move forward:
We can be slow, sometimes fast, sometimes completely off the track. But don’t lose the focus for too long & be consistent in progressing forward.

Thankyou #gratitude to all who helped me start on this journey. list is long!!