Act on What You Read

This week, I’ve decided to write about something a little different.

Many of my clients comment on how they read many self-help books yet fail to implement what is written. One client said she reads one book a week to ensure she continually improves her life. While she can remember some of the theory, she is not practising any of it.

This problem not only affects people who read self-help books, it affects most people regardless of what they read.

Does this happen to you? Do you read something and either forget what you have read or you fail to take action on what you read?

An example is the books I have written. They all have exercises to do yet very few people complete these exercises. They simply read straight through them.

What is the function of reading a book or an article?

It should be to learn something.

Many simply read it to say they have finished that book!

Here is what I do …

When reading a book:

* I have a pencil and a highlighter nearby. I highlight key points and jot notes at the side of the text.

* If there is a key point I need to remember, I will either place a stick-on note on that page with a reference or write the key word and page number on a blank page at the back of the book. This gives me a quick reference. For example, ‘Abundance quote 68’ informs me this quote is on page 68.

This helps overcome “Where in this book is that quote on abundance?” and “In which book was that quote?” Instead of reading many books to find the quote, I simply read my reference page at the back.

* When I come across a point I find interesting or something I didn’t know, I will read it twice, bookmark it and then close the book. I then think about that point for a few days and consolidate it.

* Next, I act on that point. I practise the new behaviour until it is habit and I am able to do it automatically.

I have only learnt something when I have made it a part of my life.

Most people skimp over things and, without the practise, only have the theory.

Theory by itself isn’t much good. These are the people who say “I know what I should be doing but I don’t”.

As you can gather, reading a book for me can take much time. However, I do get the key points from it and I learn what I need to learn so the reading has been a great investment – in time and money.

Are you getting the best investment from your reading?