© 2017 Readable English

What is the immediate image that comes to mind when someone says “Are you reading a book?” You see yourself lounging on the sofa or in bed, feet up, relaxed with book in hand. A few hours pass while you’re taken on an adventure to another world. Everything else stops, and reading becomes a form of meditation in itself. Time seems to stand still. Hours pass by as you simply relax, immersed in your reading. You like where you are, you feel calm, at peace, and happy.
Picturing this image is easy. Now ask yourself – when was the last time you did just that? For some, reading is a daily pastime. For others, it is a hobby that they never seem to find the time to enjoy.
There are so many reasons to read. For fun, adventure, pleasure, knowledge, to learn new skills or start new hobbies, for business, and education.
If you consider that reading is an experiential pursuit, then it’s time to make reading a new priority. Why? Because experiential items have been proven to increase your happiness over material possessions. An abstract published in The Journal of Consumer Psychology earlier this year summarises the results from three studies:
“Study 1 and Study 2 demonstrate that experiential products provide similar levels of well-being compared to life experiences, and more well-being than material items. Study 3 replicates this finding for purchases that turn out well. In addition, Study 3 shows experiential products, when compared to life experiences, lead to more feelings of competence but less feelings of relatedness, which explains why these two purchases result in similar levels of well-being”.
Give yourself an inexpensive experiential gift – buy a book. The whole journey can be an adventure in itself. Visit your local bookstore and simply see which book jumps off the shelf at you. The smell, sight, and visual experience in the bookstore will already lift your sense of wellbeing. Take this exciting book home and allow your happy journey to begin.
If you can’t afford to regularly buy new books, then visit your local library where you can read and borrow books for free.
Make reading a new routine in your life and feel the difference. Take the time to observe your mood after and before reading, and see how this changes over time. Regular experiential gifts added to your life will improve your wellbeing. Stop doing, and start reading again.