READ A DAMN BOOK

Let's be honest...

iPhones are powerful. Netflix is powerful. Instagram is powerful. They have this ability to latch onto your psyche and hold you captive in their world. Do you ever 'take a seat in the bathroom' and forty-five minutes later snap back to reality and your feet are dead to the world? Or sit down to watch one episode of Westworld and before you know it you've finished the entire season? As much as I hate to admit it, I am a victim of Instagram and Netflix. Especially now with the daylight being so short. It's weird, I know it's happening but yet I let it continue. 

I like to step back in situations like this and think "What would Ron Swanson do?" Although he's a fictional character, I look up to Ron Swanson. He's a no-bullshit, stop complaining and make it happen kind of guy. Being as a lot of Ron Swanson's characteristics were taken from Nick Offerman himself, I guess you could just say I'm a strong believer in Mr. Offerman. What types of encouraging words would he have in a situation like this? A situation where you're investing countless hours into an activity that you aren't even benefiting from? I'm not saying social media and streaming services are completely unnecessary, but I believe we need to check ourselves with how much time we're spending on them. 

I think Mr. Offerman would have truck beds full of useful alternatives, but for the purposes of this blog I think he would say "Read a damn book". Pick up a book and learn something. Flip through the pages, smell the ink on the paper. Movies and television shows allow you to escape into a world other than your own; books do the exact same thing. You can still slay dragons and travel back in time to prevent the assassination of JFK, just don't be so damn lazy about it. Put your brain to work processing words as you turn the pages. Watch your bookmark travel from chapter to chapter, as if it were documenting your journey through this particular story. Plus, setting a book down after you've finished it feels like a small victory. 

I'm making it a personal goal to read at least two books a month, hopefully more. This isn't the ice bucket challenge, but I would like to encourage you to up your reading as well. Instead of melting into the couch and binge watching Twin Peaks, pick an endangered species to learn about or find out what happens when a group of teenage boys gets stranded on a remote island. Learn how to build a cabinet or grow cherry tomatoes. Key word: LEARN. The only thing I've learned from Instagram is a lot of people have nicer bikes than I do. 

Head to Half Price Books with a 10 dollar bill and leave with a stack of knowledge and adventure. I guarantee you will find something that excites you. 

Just do it. C'mon. C'mon.