Retrieve Long Lost Wisdom From Your Favourite Books
How many inspiring books have you read that when you finish reading it you say “that was amazing, what a brilliant book, I’m definitely using that!”
But once that initial excitement and will power fades, it’s an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ situation as the book ends up on a shelf somewhere, never to be touched again.
We all do it. So how can we hold on to the best bits from our favourite books? And why is it a good idea?
Life can feel like a whirlwind of stuff to do, places to get to and people to attend to. Not to mention the endless preparing, eating and clearing up from eating. So we can use the wisdom and inspiration that books give us on a daily basis to act as a guide, a set of principles maybe, that help you to savour each day and live it the way you want.
How To Harness The Wisdom From A Book
It can be extremely difficult to translate information and wisdom from books without a structure. Life is busy and constantly interrupts things you want to do, so by creating your own plan, you’ll know what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. It’ll make the whole process easier and achievable. Here’s my simple guide to help you.
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You may know exactly the book or books you want to use this guide for, but if not, the first thing to do is to take a few minutes to sit quietly and give yourself some space to think about what your favourite reads have been over the years. I like to use where I was living, jobs I had, holidays I went on or who I was dating as visual prompts. Sometimes they can help to jog memories of what I was reading during that time.
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Now that you have your list. Pick one, and write down the key thing that sticks in your mind about that book. Maybe it’s a quote or a whole approach to something. It might be that you have a strong sense that a certain book was inspiring but it was such a long time ago that you read it, you can’t remember the exact points. No problem, here’s a couple of ways to get clarity and jog your memory:
📖 Ask ChatGPT to give you a list of the main points of the book.
📖 Search Blinkist for the title and read their overview of the book.
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Now you’re clear on what the wisdom is, answer these three questions to help formalise how you’re going to use it. Get comfy, grab a tea and your favourite notebook and allow yourself some time to consider them:
📖 What is it about this wisdom that stuck in your mind? Why did it stay with you?
📖 What area of your life would benefit from this wisdom right now?
📖 How can you bring this to life in a practical way? What does it physically look like to use this in that area of your life? If we don’t have a specific action for our intention, it’s less likely to happen.
📖 How will you remind yourself to do this? Life is full of distractions, so what can you that will remind you that this is important to you? I’m an old fashioned post-it lover, but I also have several alarms on my phone with specific notes telling me to practice something.
Change Happens When You Commit To Action
Now that you have your practical wisdom, how will you commit to using it? When will you check in with yourself to see how it’s going? How will you know when you’ve done what you say you will? Self measurement is key to change, as Pearsons Law puts it so well below, so I invite you to get clear on what that looks like for you.
“That which is measured improves. That which is measured and reported improves exponentially.”
One of my favourite books is The Big Leap by Gay Henricks. I took an affirmation that he had carefully created in the book and set an alarm on my phone to remind me to say it out loud every day. I had that alarm for a year! It was amazing. This is it..
“I expand in abundance, success and love every day as I inspire those around me to do the same.”
Good luck! And as always, I would ❤️ to hear how you get on with this if you try it. Drop me a line here.
Written by Kate Greenslade, PCC
Click here to find out how working with Kate as your personal mindfulness coach will help you feel more fulfilled and content.