We all know the saying, “You are what you eat,” and it’s true in a very literal sense. What you eat ends up becoming part of your body, so make sure it’s mostly good stuff.
The same is true with what you read. The ideas you read about become part of your mind, and the more you read on a certain topic, the more that topic permeates your thoughts. That’s why it’s so important to focus on reading that which enriches your life, and to avoid reading that which impoverishes your life.
You are what you read.
Who do you think is the happier, more successful person? Someone who reads classic fiction, self-development books and blogs, spiritual texts, and overall positive writing, or someone who reads the news, the angry, combative comments under news articles, and celebrity gossip magazines that focus on drug addiction and cheating? I won’t insult your intelligence by answering the question.
This is why I advocate cutting the news out of your life entirely. I barely know what’s going on in the news world and I’m happier for it. There is literally zero benefit in knowing all of the terrible, depressing shit that’s happening out there unless you’re looking to go fix it. And I seriously doubt that’s your intention.
Reading lighthearted, positive writing on a regular basis will, 100% guaranteed or your money back, make your life better. Reading about successful entrepreneurs will make you more successful. The ideas you absorb become part of your mind and mingle with all of your other thoughts, especially on a subconscious level.
Without even trying, you will start to think like the people who write what you read. Make sure those people are successful, happy people. Not angry, stupid people.
What your view is of the world is your world. Reality is subjective. If you don’t know about innocent women being raped in the Middle East, that’s not part of your reality. It doesn’t exist in your world.
Trust me, I know it’s difficult to cut the news or certain websites or magazines out of your life. It truly is an addiction, and when it’s just a click away, it’s tough not to just “take a quick look” then end up spending an hour or two letting the internet take a dump directly into your brain.
Mold your own reality with positivity and inspiration. Life’s not all sunshine and rainbows, but you can make it so.
Comments
3 responses to “You Are What You Read”
[…] You are what you read. […]
Great article, couldn’t agree more. I do have one question, you stated that “If you don’t know about innocent women being raped in the Middle East, that’s not part of your reality. ” which I agree with. But i was curious if this applies to issues that could in fact affect your life in a tangible way. For example, a new headline that reads “Wyoming water supply poisoned” if you live in Wyoming, whether you read this article or not, you will die if you drink the water and it will affect your reality. what are the limits of subjective reality?
Hey Luke, good question. I think the answer is somewhat complex.
IF (that’s a gigantic “if” to the point where what I’m about to say either borders or is circular logic) you have complete power over your thoughts and beliefs, then there are no limits to subjective reality. I believe that there are monks who exist in this reality who have so surpassed what we “normal” people believe is possible that they are able to levitate (i.e. defy the seemingly inexorable law of gravity), visit and affect alternate dimensions, consume higher-than-lethal doses of poison while remaining unaffected, and all kinds of other cool things. But again, that takes a level of power over oneself that we will likely never achieve.
If a “normal” person were to be unaware of his water supply being poisoned, unless he were completely in tune with his body and mind, therefore being able to believe his way into perfect health regardless of what he consumes (this is actually quite possible for us normal people, in my opinion), he’d likely become sick. First of all, there are basic cause-and-effect relationships that exist somewhat objectively in human life. Consuming poison causes sickness. Those somewhat objective effects can be overcome by your mind, but most people won’t have that level of control, so even if they’re unaware of the poisoned water, they will become sick.
Another possibility is that the collective human consciousness (which is another article entirely) is aware of the poison in the water, therefore the unaware person still becomes sick because on a subconscious, collective level, he is aware of the poison in the water. If this is true, then what I said in the article – women being raped is not part of your reality because you don’t know about it – may not be true since it exists in the collective human consciousness.
Pretty cool to think about when you dig deep into the ideas, but for practical purposes, the point is simply to avoid the shit in the world and move toward the beauty. There’s plenty of both, and those of us blessed to live in western civilization have full freedom to choose which way to go.