Achieving the ultimate lifestyle and a notable place in your career is something everyone desires. Our life-goals and dreams revolve around attaining our most wanted luxuries and longings that define our lives. Be it winning the limelight as a leader, getting the emblem for the star performer in our career, or determining our lives' direction; all these trophies demand us to adopt certain habits and inculcate routine changes. No matter which field you want to excel in, the best way to determine your way forward is to look up to the leaders in that field, their habits and lifestyles.
What I want to talk about in this write-up is specifically for those determined people who want to achieve their unique personality traits. People who want to be at their A-game all the time and want to be recognized as the best in every field they choose. We all begin to change our lives at the very moment we think about it, and inhabiting the norms of the leaders can be an excellent place to start. Your field or line of work does not come in the way of you wanting to change and move higher in your lives. In fact, anyone can adopt a change in their lifestyle, be it in terms relevant to academics, office employment, business, sports, or even household – everyone can change and evolve.
If you are still reading this, it means you have the optimistic flame of bringing about a long wanted change in your life and quite frankly; this article is for people like you. I am not going to be talking as a scholar; instead, I’d be openly talking to you as a mere citizen of the Pakistani society. I am going to highlight a fundamental aspect of our society that is sadly being ignored on a universal scale and has the potential to take us to the former glory that was once enjoyed by Muslims all over the world for centuries.
I’m here to talk about something that has been adopted by leaders, and successful people all over the world in every department one can ever think of. Book Reading. The habit of reading is coupled on a molecular level with evolution in all life fields, be it religious excellence or attaining the absolute command over any worldly occupation. I have no intention of boring you with my perspective because, sadly, it’s a normal perception that reading is a tedious and boring activity. Contrary to popular belief, reading has always been one of the most interesting time utilization methods.
Let's have a retrospective look and see how many iconic leaders of the modern world have been extensive readers. Bill Gates, the tech giant, consumes more than 50 books every year. Steve Jobs separated special hours on a daily basis dedicated only for reading. One might ask, why do such successful people need to read this much? The answer is simple. Reading is interesting, not dull, and ultimately, it allows you to be energetic enough so that you continuously have the urge to evolve.
You might argue that I am talking about worldly occupations and leaders of the modern world only. To this, I would recommend you dive into the history and see how Muslims achieved glory in the fields of Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Optics, Astronomy, and hundreds of other fields, just by consulting the books written by their predecessors and adding their input to the lot. The world’s finest collection of instructions for humanity is also in the form of a book, The Quran.
Let me be clear about one thing. Getting you to read on a particular topic or the subjects related to your academia is not my aim of penning down this piece. Reading about anything that interests you is how I personally read. If you have a peculiar interest and find it challenging to discuss with other people, books will most certainly be your best friends in helping you adjust to that peculiarity. If you are new to the magical realm of book reading and confused about where to start, the best bet will be to go for the biographies of successful leaders of the past and the modern world. There will be boatloads of lessons and qualities in these books that can turn us into our best versions in no time if acquired by us.
Here’s an exciting proposal as a testimony to my appeal. We all must have seen videos made in the developed countries somewhere in our lives. In almost every video or even in our personal experiences, people have witnessed those countrymen being fond of reading. Be it a person commuting to the office or a student having some free time, most of them have their favorite books on them and try to read them whenever possible. The phenomenon is so common that with the technological boom, came the fame of ebooks that are even more convenient to read. Now people present eBooks and audiobooks as a highly respected gift to each other.
During my visits to countries like Canada and America, I was not surprised to see the older people indulging in books more than the young bloods. People who have more experience and exposure understand the true worth of reading and readers. Over time, they apprehend the fact that “Readers Become Leaders”.
As a green-blooded patriot, I strongly urge everyone to inculcate reading habits in their life and also in the lives of their friends and family. Children are the best assets to invest this skill in, as they are more open to learn and put the lessons in the books to use in their lives. However, a survey in 2019 yielded alarmingly low engagement with books by our youth and our students.
Let’s join hands and instill this extremely productive hobby in our lives. Being a teacher, a parent, or even a business owner makes you a leader and gives you the opportunity to make your children, students, and subordinates to diverge towards reading. It should be our national responsibility, and it is high time that we again sow the seed of reading in our youngsters and personally return to this habit as well. Our future sustainability depends on us being critical thinkers, keen observers, and handy problem solvers – all of which can be easily made possible by extensive reading.
There are 18 public libraries in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where millions of books are awaiting you. Visit the libraries, read your favorite books, and be fruited with the delights just waiting for your one visit. If not that, there must be a book lying somewhere in your house that you bought some time ago or was gifted by a friend. Pick that book up, and try to read one page at a time. The realm of words is a fantastic place to earn rewards that you can leverage the world for.
I am of the firm belief that a reader can think much more perceptively and practically than someone who is not a reader. If you have reached the end of this article, I am more than hopeful that you will have certain suggestions for the government that can be implemented to promote reading. Those suggestions and feedback will be highly appreciated and personally catered by me at Higergoals@hed.kgp.pk.
