Reading

Credits: lifehack.org

I read self-improvement articles. Not a lot of them, but I do read from time to time. It’s not the most interesting thing to do (compared to the many addictive things you can do on your smartphone, like Candy Crush, Facebook.. too many that I can never finish naming), but I do it because I believe that they make me a better person in various aspects.

Of course, it’s not everyday that you get the drive to read someone else’s blog post, or an article with the scroll bar so small that you have trouble clicking it with your mouse. There’s just too much distractions – think about the last time you wanted to read an article about the psychology of social interaction, only to catch yourself laughing over BuzzFeed’s 22 funniest animal moments. I experience that all the time. But recently I read an article (luckily, when I am in the right mood, haha) that gave me an epiphany – to quote from the author,

“Most of us seem to tacitly believe that our emotional state has to match the task at hand. [But that’s just not true.] I have to recognize that I’m rarely going to feel like it, and it doesn’t matter if I don’t feel like it.”

Here I offer my own interpretation based on other articles I read.

People may think that the most successful people in life are able to achieve their goals because they are so passionate about what they do that they do it everyday. It’s really not the case; it’s not everyday that people have the motivation to do what they need to do. The difference between successful people and the others is that even on days where there is no drive, the successful people do it anyway. They persevere despite their emotional interference and continue practicing their craft.

And that’s what made me force myself to continue reading more and more.