Skip to content

My Happiness Obsession

365 Day Blogging Project #2 (Begun 7/3/22)

Menu
  • Home
  • About
  • Top Categories
    • Personal Growth
    • Money
    • Law of Attraction
    • Blogging
    • Running & Health
  • Complete Post Index
Menu

Day 235: Taming the Reading Hobgoblin

Posted on March 26, 2019

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.


–Emerson

A few months ago I wrote that I wasn’t feeling as motivated to read. Well, we are nearly through the third month of the year, and this pattern has continued.

Allow me to clarify: I read all the time. The reading I’m talking about above is where I took a book (particularly a non-fiction book), started reading it (often every weekday morning), and then finished said book. Then I logged it in my reading log, and at the end of the year had an impressive list (at least, to me) of 25-35 books I had finished.

I did this faithfully for four years.

This year, I have utterly ignored my weekday morning reading ritual. In fact, I have recorded a mere two books as complete in my reading log for 2019. Two books… both novels!

Believe me, the hobgoblin in my little mind is shrieking at my “foolish inconsistency.” My mind generally prefers me to follow routine, and my mind has a very strong opinion that it is “better” to be reading books, and that it is better to be adding to my reading list regularly, than not to be. It has the judgment that I’m “not being as productive” as I was when I was reading every weekday morning.

And yet, like I wrote back in January, something about that ritual was no longer satisfying me. Taking a breather from it seems to be helping. For one thing, in the past few months I have gone to the cafe to write with much greater frequency. Often, I have gone in the mornings. Not having morning reading to do has opened up space for this.

On a more mental level, I just don’t think I have as much interest right now in reading books just to read them. For four years, I used discipline to read a lot of books that otherwise wouldn’t have gotten read. I read biographies, financial books, and classic and respected works of literature. I am totally grateful for this period of time. I am totally grateful for the empowerment of knowing that, as an adult who isn’t in a class or something, I can make reading a priority of my own volition.

I don’t think anything has changed on that account. I still value reading. In fact, I am currently “in the middle” of several books. Admittedly, they are all law of attraction or spiritual type books, most of which I have already read. I study them over again because they have ideas that I am still working mastering. Right now I am especially enjoying the following:

  • Ask and it is Given, by Esther and Jerry Hicks.
  • The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, by Deepak Chopra.
  • Three Magic Words, by Uell S. Andersen

What seems to have changed is that I am no longer so concerned about “getting to the end” of the books as I was. Last year I admit that imperative started getting tiresome. Nowadays, it seems I am more interested in gaining the wisdom I seek. I am more likely to want to open up a book and read a page or two, or take in a few pages at a time, without concern about “getting it done.” So I keep the titles above with me when I write, and I keep them next to my bed, and I continually open them up at random for inspiration and to soak in the ideas.

Similarly, regarding money, for example, I am less interested in reading new ideas about the topic, and more interested in mastering my relationship with the stuff! I guess I’m saying that I’m more interested in taking care of the guy who is doing the reading than in merely doing the reading to say that I’ve done it!

Put another way, it seems that I’m less interested in taking in a lot of ideas from other people, unless those match the inner work that I am currently doing. Otherwise, I’m more interested in simply doing the inner work, which I have been accomplishing through writing.

So the impressive reading list may just have to wait.

I’m practicing being okay with that. No matter what the hobgoblin in my little mind says. 😉

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)

Property of:

Recent Posts

  • Day 365: Don’t Overthink It!
  • Day 364: Missing It Already
  • Day 363: “Of Futile Efforts” (Original Music)
  • Day 362: Things Are Looking Up in Highly-Sensitive Land
  • Day 361: Today’s Appreciations

Read Posts by Category

Blogging (134) Books (88) Creative Writing (69) Creativity Topics (80) Higher Self (85) Home Life (21) Law of Attraction (139) Miscellaneous (109) Money (138) Movies (15) Music Career (58) Original Music (56) Personal Growth (352) Running & Health (128) Shenanigans & Ruminations (89)

Archives

Share this page

Share

More Recent Posts

  • Day 365: Don’t Overthink It!
  • Day 364: Missing It Already
  • Day 363: “Of Futile Efforts” (Original Music)
  • Day 362: Things Are Looking Up in Highly-Sensitive Land
  • Day 361: Today’s Appreciations
  • Day 360: Focus Where It Feels Best
  • Day 359: Along for the Market Ride, No Matter What (Part 2)
  • Day 358: A Week Away
  • Day 357: Taking Care of the Rest
  • Day 356: Take Your Happiness Into Your Own Hands (1000th Post!)
  • Day 355: More Under the Vibrational Hood
  • Day 354: Approaching My 1000th Post
  • Day 353: An Accomplishment of Self-Care
  • Day 352: The Book (Update #5)
  • Day 351: Some Honesty About Tonight’s Outing
  • Day 350: Inspired Action Over Habit
  • Day 349: A Consistent Yet Relaxed Running Life
  • Day 348: Using Affirmations Effectively
  • Day 347: What is the Essence?
  • Day 346: Tonight’s (Money-Related) Appreciations
  • Day 345: More on Mental Attitude
  • Day 344: Put Your Happiness First
  • Day 343: One Who Is a Visionary Thrives in All Times
  • Day 342: Facing the Music
  • Day 341: Today’s Appreciations
  • Day 340: Solitude, My Steady State
  • Day 339: Time to Make Peace with Being Highly-Sensitive
  • Day 338: Being Myself, the Way that Suits Me
  • Day 337: The Book (Update #4)
  • Day 336: Perfection is Over-Rated
  • Day 335: If It Doesn’t Fit For You, How Great Can It Be?
  • Day 334: Ten Accomplishments
  • Day 333: “From What Dimension” (Original Music)
  • Day 332: You Can’t Get There From Here
  • Day 331: Sniffing Out True “Hell Yeses”
  • Day 330: The Completely Invisible Yet Omnipresent Force
  • Day 329: The Keeper of My Happiness
  • Day 328: Today’s Appreciations
  • Day 327: 1000 Pieces. One Good Experience
  • Day 326: Chronos Says, “Vive La Difference!”
  • Day 325: Words for Zoning Out on Appreciation
  • Day 324: Fie, Dividends. Fie!
  • Day 323: Onto the “Too Hard” Pile!
  • Day 322: Learning to Make Myself Right
  • Day 321: Let’s Keep Playing Ball
  • Day 320: Trust Your Instincts
  • Day 319: Every Negative Mood is Based on a Misunderstanding
  • Day 318: Appreciating the Walk Break
  • Day 317: You Can’t Go Wrong Following Inspiration
  • Day 316: The Magic of “Our Universe”
  • Day 315: Work I Love
  • Day 314: I Need Me Some Happiness!
  • Day 313: You Can’t Have It Both Ways
  • Day 312: Along for the Market Ride, No Matter What
  • Day 311: The Book (Update #3)
  • Day 310: “Witnesses of Beauty”
  • Day 309: Tonight’s Appreciations
  • Day 308: Satisfied and Worthy, Doing Something Right
  • Day 307: The Lawless “Casino Age” of Banking
  • Day 306: Aiming to Feel Good Does Good
  • Day 305: Seven Days of Balanced Exercise
  • Day 304: Alignment is Worth the Wait
  • Day 303: Still Enjoying My Monthly Kiplinger’s Ritual
  • Day 302: Taking Score Too Soon?
  • Day 301: Drawn to Flexibility
  • Day 300: Dress Rehearsal for My Next Backpacking Trip?
  • Day 299: Happy Thoughts Produce Happy Lives
  • Day 298: I Enjoy a Well-Crafted Post
  • Day 297: Chernow’s “House of Morgan” and the 1929 Crash
  • Day 296: The Book (Update #2)
  • Day 295: Tonight’s Appreciations
  • Day 294: Netflix’s “How to Get Rich” (I Dig It)
  • Day 293: Shifting Your Vibration
  • Day 292: “In the Rhyming Zone” (Original Rhyme)
  • Day 291: Bay-to-Breakers 2023!
  • Day 290: More Answers to Quality Questions
  • Day 289: It’s the Experience!
  • Day 288: Toast
  • Day 287: Film Scoring Update (What I’m Learning)
  • Day 286: What We Make Of It
  • Day 285: “The Passion of Joan of Arc” (1928) – (Original Film Score)
  • Day 284: Bring on the Inspiration, Baby…
  • Day 283: Still On Message
  • Day 282: Appreciating Financial Education
  • Day 281: Long Live Appreciations
  • Day 280: The Book (Update #1)
  • Day 279: Thank You, Balance!
  • Day 278: Doing What Fits
  • Day 277: The Silver Lining of Short-Term Pain
  • Day 276: I’m Lovin It
  • Day 275: Attracting What I Want with the Satisfaction “Sniff Test”
  • Day 274: The Playful Whimsy of My “Bazinga” T-Shirt
  • Day 273: Loving the Synchronicities
  • Day 272: The Dramatics of the Mind
  • Day 271: I’m Digging the Mellowness
  • Day 270: Thoughts on Today’s 5k
  • Day 269: The Slow-and-Steady Machine Works Its Magic
  • Day 268: A 5k to Balance Recovery and Fun
  • Day 267: I Did That!
  • Day 266: Tuesday Night Appreciations
    ©2023 My Happiness Obsession | Design: Newspaperly WordPress Theme