Stop Reading! Start Acting!

We can be trapped in our reading.

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What are your reasons for reading? Or what is the motivation behind reading this article? Why are you going to read another article after this? Whatever your answer is, I’m certain it’s connected with your desire to learn. Even if you were reading for pleasure, it’d only mean you’re engaging in an unconscious learning.

Here is Where It Begins

• We have found our passion or interest and we are ready to pursue it.
• We have seen experts who have gone ahead in this direction and we are ready to follow them.
• We know there’s an option for a formal education but we discard this option because of the pecuniary and long term commitment involved.

The Influence of the Information Age

Thanks to the technology developed in the digital revolution, you now have access to a vast amount of information; so vast that you cannot consume on your own. As long as you have access to the technology, you have access to the information without any restraints.

D.I.Ys (Do-It-Yourself) survives on the available information. Almost all professions can be self-developed (to an extent) with the information just at your fingertips.

Success stories of those who took advantage of this privilege are popping on your screens and flying through your newsfeed. It’s probably the motivation behind your pursuits. When you hear stories of how certain persons became successful in their profession without a formal education, just self-development, it gives you the fortitude to pursue your dreams.

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Why Do We Read?

• We read because of the stories we hear about successful people. We don’t just want to be told how they made it, we want to follow their paths and make it as well. We read about them because they inspire us; they motivate us; they fuel our passions.
• We read because there is knowledge in reading. We want to hone our crafts. We want to develop our minds. We want to configure our brains to think like a pro.
• We read because we want to learn. We have dabbled into a strange world we have little or no idea about. We want to learn the language, the habits, the attributes, and the system of operation.

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The Danger of Reading

Whatever your intentions are for reading, it can’t be a bad idea. Besides “readers are leaders” as they say. However, it is so easy to get trapped in the cycle of reading as you transit in your pursuit of mastery.

The more you read, the more you discover your inadequacies; the more you are challenged to read further. You can get so thrilled while reading success stories that you lose track of your success journey.

Reading could be so convincing at the same time confusing. When you have too many options available to you as a result of your wide and wild reading, the choice of where to start from becomes a problem.

So, rather than starting somewhere, you keep reading, hoping that somehow, someday, you’d reach the end of the tunnel where the light will beam bright enough for you to see the path to thread. Unfortunately you never reach this end.

Alas! You’re moving in a cycle but you are ignorant of it. You keep reading, adding knowledge, but never progress. So, how do you escape the trap of reading in a cycle? How can you make progress with your reading?

Here’s the Right Thing to Do

It is fair enough that you start reading with the desire to be informed, however, if you want to develop yourself, you must be intentional with the information you digest.

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Knowledge indeed is power, but its power can only be effective when the knowledge gained through information is practically applied.

So the next time you click an article to read or you open a book to read, you should ask yourself these questions:

• Why did I read this?
• What have I gained reading this?
• What instructions am I to follow?
• What habits is here to imbibe?
• What rules are to be adhered to?
• What are the action points?
• Where do I go from here?

If you can sincerely answer this questions and act on them, your progress is certain. For mastery is not attained by much reading, but much practice. While it is good to read, it is better to act on what you read.

So what are you going to do now after reading this? Stop reading, and start acting!