How To Read More Books: My #1 Online Motivation Tool

I’m an avid reader. It’s one of my very favourite activities, and it has enriched my life in many more ways than I can enumerate. Books have given me many gifts, chief among them my vocabulary, my understanding of the world, my conversation topics, and – more likely than not – my love of writing.

It physically pains me when people say that a) they don’t like to read, or b) they don’t have time. If you lean more towards a) – I am sad for you. You don’t know what you’re missing! Maybe you’re not reading the right things. Don’t be afraid to try a different genre (sci-fi, culture studies, romance?) of book, or format (short stories, choose-your-own-adventure?). I’m sure there’s a story out there that will grip you, shake you, and spit you back out utterly changed. (In a good way, if that wasn’t immediately obvious).

As for those who agree with statement b)..Codswallop! There’s time. Believe it, there’s time. (Read more about how to make time for your passions.) Are you watching TV while you eat? Could be reading. Are you listening to music on your commute? Could be reading. Are you paying attention in class? Could be reading. (Totally kidding.) There is, of course, the possibility that you’d rather not be reading, and if so: I redirect you to the paragraph above.

For now, let’s operate on the principle that you’d like to be reading, but you can’t find the motivation to make it a priority. Trust me, for all my love of the written word, I can totally understand this notion. More often than I’d like to admit, my books get tossed aside in favour of my shiny, interactive, exciting laptop. And even though I have these insane goals, like read 100 books in 2011, sometimes I shrug them off, and watch MasterChef instead.

So! How did I, a distractable fool of a girl, manage to read 32 books in 32 weeks this year?

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New Year’s Resolutions Update

Check out my New Year’s Resolutions Quarterly Report to see the progress I’ve made since March!

It’s August 15, which means we are 8 months into 2011, just slightly under 3/4 of the way through this year! As a reminder to myself, I wanted to outline my progress on my resolutions, so that I don’t forget them as I head back to school. Maybe this post can serve as a hint to you too: have you made progress on your resolutions!? How about your goals, wishes, desires, dreams, ideas? If yes: congratulations, I am very proud of you! If no, you still have 3.5 months to go, so get crack-a-lackin’! I know that this post is going to be a kick in my pants, for sure. :)

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How To Make Time For Your Passions

The title of this post sort of seems like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? If we’re really and truly passionate about something, shouldn’t it just come naturally – without us having to “make time”? And yet, I’m sure we can all relate to the notion of being too busy for the things (or the people) we love. When we have many things going on – school, work, social obligations, extra-curriculars, family – it’s easy for our love of the easel, microphone, or keyboard to fall by the wayside. We all have a little bit of creative genius inside of us, whether we express that through computer programming, graffiti, juggling or flower arrangements. Or maybe our passions are less about creation than they are about consumption: books, art, music, fashion shows, blogs, magazines or restaurants. (I’m sure that most of us have passions that lie in the realms of both creation and consumption.) And if personal experience is any indication, our passions are the first thing to go when life gets busy and time gets scarce.

But hold up. Why should this be? After all, our passions feed us all the nutrients our spirit needs: joy, satisfaction, beauty, love.. Without them, we are flat, boring, listless. Uninterested. Uninteresting.

Of course, we all live in the real world. We all have pressing concerns, such as making a living, studying, or caring for others. Maybe it is unrealistic for some of us to pursue our passions on a large scale. But I think everyone has at least fifteen minutes in their busy day to practice their passions. And that first fifteen minutes is all it takes! Once you make it a habit, I think you’ll find yourself looking forward to those 15 minutes of you time, starting to stretch it out to half an hour, waking up earlier, going to bed later – doing anything you can do to feed your soul.

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How to Be Happier by Using the Self-Determination Theory

This week, I was finally inspired enough by Marie Forleo and her amazing Q&A Tuesday videos to make one of my own. She is a very impressive woman, and if you haven’t already checked her out, I would say head on over now! Her website is jam-packed full of amazing business and lifestyle advice, and regardless of what you do for a living, that girl preaches no-nonsense words of wisdom. I have tons of respect for the lady.

So this week, as I was facing yet another dastardly combination of writer’s block, fatigue, and lack of time, writing a serious article on my blog was the least appealing thing imaginable. I was uninspired and unimpressed, but felt an urge to post something of use online. I chose a concept, wrote down some bullet points, and pointed the camera at myself. Yes, this is my very first vlog.

In the video, I’ll be talking about a theory that I learned about in one of my psychology classes: the Self-Determination Theory. One of the theory’s key points is the 3 basic psychological needs that work to produce a person’s everyday happiness (daily well-being), and that’s what I talk about in the video.  Hoever the theory is much more detailed, you can find more information on it here.

After watching, try to jot down a few ways you could increase your daily quota of each of the three basic psychological needs, to become happier!

  1. Autonomy
  2. Competence/Mastery
  3. Relatedness

And be sure to let me know what you think of this approach to happiness: is it total b.s., or do Deci & Ryan have a point? I’d love to hear from you, either in the comments below, on twitter or by email.

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