Nourishing Your Mind: Are you reading junk food or real food?

When you invest in a company, the hope is that the business will do well enough to profit – turning your money into more money. If you don't think the company would do well enough to profit, you wouldn't invest in it. Investing in yourself is believing in yourself – in what you have to offer the world – enough to know that you are worth investing in.

Those words are why I never feel guilty about time or money I spend reading!

Reading is an investment you make in yourself. It takes quite a bit of time (unless you're a speed reader, in which case, TEACH ME!!!) and the cost can even add up, especially if books are your thing.

I read at least 50,000 words per day, usually more, (#livingthedream) and it's amazing how different my mindset can be based on the quality of what I'm reading. I have quite a few habits I'm not particularly proud of, but  you're never going to find me trying to cut back on my reading. In fact, according to Forbes, “inhaling information” is one of the most common habits among successful people. While information overload can be a problem, it's more from not being intentional about what information you're consuming rather than how much.

I read a lot about health, nutrition, parenting, environmental issues, social media and blogging, business, and marketing, because those are the types of things I'm interested in and that help me in the work I do. Lately, I've been learning more about wine and gourmet cooking. I go through phases of reading a lot of spiritual and religious material. I read very little fiction, but I'm started to realize I should read more of it, because it's fun and I need that.

I have cultivated a few tactics that help me stay super intentional about what I'm reading, so I don't veer off and spend the whole day reading about what giraffes eat or the average number of tail feathers a peacock has.

It's crucial to have a good way of storing things to read later. There is the Pocket app – it is truly revolutionary! When I'm working online and come across an article I'd like to read, I “Save to Pocket” to read later instead. The app works across your browser and mobile device so you can access the content you save from anywhere. I love this, because at the end of the day I can delete things that I might have just saved on a whim and only read what I'm really excited about. I also tend to focus better when I'm reading on my phone, since the multiple tab function on my phone is clunky, so I don't click all the links unless I'm really interested in the information. I also love Pocket because it's just really pretty and pleasant to read from! I'm not distracted by the design of different websites. It also has a text-to-voice feature that reads TO you if you're into that sort of thing. The robo-voice is a little awkward, but I like the option to listen to articles while I'm cooking or working out.

I also try to limit most of my reading to certain parts of the day – in the morning and evening. I haven't perfected this habit by any stretch of the imagination, but when I stick to it, I get a lot more accomplished.

You guys told me you love books with pages much more than eBooks and I get that, but my love affair with digital content continues. I love the idea and nostalgia behind reading a real, turn-the-pages, smudge-the-ink book. Practically, though, I keep going for the eBooks. I love they they are right there in the Kindle app on my phone, I love that I can search them, I love that I can instantly buy and read a book that I want. I feel like it's the really cool thing to be all about “real books” but since when am I cool? #ebooksforever

You can learn about pretty much anything you want to by reading – and with the plenitude of information online, it's never been easier. I have loved reading ever since I was a tiny child and new worlds were opened up to me through books and later, the internet. I want my children to have the same opportunities to learn, which is why we focus so much on reading in our early-years of homeschooling.

You obviously already read. You are here, reading a blog, for fun! My hope is that my thoughts here will encourage you to read smart and really think about how what you read is affecting your thought life. It's important!

What are your favorite things to read about? What kind of information are you investing in yourself?