Just One More Chapter Preview

This is a free preview of Just One More Chapter by Maneetpaul Singh.

Chapter 1: Finding Your Why

Why do you want to become a bookworm?

The first step to reading every day is to reflect on this question honestly. Is it because somebody told you reading is good for you? Or maybe you keep hearing about successful people who read a lot of books?

What is your true motivation?

I don’t mean to sound harsh, but I need to be honest with you about this. Without a clear purpose, your reading habit won’t last long. Be real with yourself and write down the genuine reason that comes to mind when reflecting on this question.

For most people, it ultimately boils down to one or two reasons.

We’ll discuss those in a moment, but let’s first discuss a common trap.

When I began my journey as an aspiring bookworm, my motivation was to read one book every month. It felt like a great way to gamify the habit. At the time, I had a friend trying to read one book every week! I remember feeling amazed and in disbelief when he told me.

My metric for success became the number of books I could finish.

I wanted to become somebody who read a lot of books every year.

While this is an admirable goal, it isn’t enough to build a reading habit that sticks for a lifetime. Setting a numerical reading goal can be helpful, but it shouldn’t be the sole reason you’re trying to build this habit.

So, let’s make something clear from the very beginning:

It doesn’t matter how many books you read.

I urge you to pick another indicator to measure your success. I implore you not to use reading goals as your purpose. Please don't fall for it, no matter how many people you see showing off the number of books they’re reading.

And trust me, you’ll see it everywhere.

I was guilty of this for a long time. Tracking how many books you read can feel like a badge of honor. The more books you read, the bigger a bookworm you are, right? It’s an easy mindset to fall into.

I promise you the number of books you read doesn’t define your status as a bookworm.

I also want to clarify that having reading goals isn’t bad. We’ll talk more about them later as a tactic we can use. But in the grand scheme of things, it’s just a number. Don’t let it be the driving factor of your desire to read.

So, if the number of books we read doesn’t matter, what does?

Reading for Mindfulness

2021 was one of the busiest years of my life.

It was a year of beautiful events. My wife and I got married and moved out of the suburbs for the first time. But between all the celebrating and excitement, there was also a lot of craziness and planning. This was when I discovered the term “mindfulness” to help with my stress.

Have you ever tried practicing mindfulness?

Don’t worry. The point of this book isn’t to teach you about meditation or why you should do it. There are plenty of great books on the topic out there. But personally, I believe that reading can be one of the strongest forms of meditation and mindfulness.

In a nutshell, mindfulness is all about being present.

Reading a book is one of the best ways to do that.

Being mindful is the primary reason why I choose to read every day. Reading is a surefire way to calm me down if I feel overwhelmed or stressed from a busy day. It’s my cure for an active mind.

Think about that for a second.

On days when we’re busy, we usually find it difficult to read. There’s not enough time! There’s too much to do! But it’s precisely these days when reading will be the most beneficial for us. Reading has the power to transport us out of our racing thoughts and into a focused, mindful state.

Instead of being trapped inside our busy minds, we can escape.

We can escape to a state of calm and focus.

Maybe you’ve experienced this before—that feeling of becoming completely immersed in a book. It’s like being teleported to a different planet. You start to block out everything happening around you, and all your thoughts center around what you’re reading.

I love doing this during my morning commute.

Outside of my YouTube life, I have a day job in a corporate office. I commute to NYC on the subway during the morning rush hour a few times a week. This is my favorite time to read because it turns my hour-long commute into a short ride that feels like only a few minutes. Heck, I even look forward to driving to the grocery store because it’s the perfect time to listen to an audiobook.

If you haven’t felt this before, don't panic.

That’s why you’re reading this book!

Instead of being reactive to stress, reading helps us become proactive. Having a daily dose of mindfulness through reading rewires our brain to be more present. It spills over to other areas of life, such as working or being present with loved ones.

So, yeah, a goal of reading for mindfulness may not sound as cool as trying to read a new book every week.

But if you ask me, it’s way more powerful.

Reading to Learn

This section is for all my fellow nonfiction readers.

To make it abundantly clear, I have nothing against fiction. When it comes to mindfulness, fiction does the job better than nonfiction. There’s nothing quite like being sucked into a good story that takes you away from all the stresses of the real world.

But nonfiction books have one added benefit.

The ability to pursue lifelong learning.

If increasing your mindfulness isn’t enough of a purpose for you, perhaps you’ll resonate with the idea of personal development. Reading is a fantastic way to keep our brains healthy and challenged. Anyone can learn anything by reading a book, regardless of their age, background, or profession.

Let me also clear up a common stereotype.

Personal development doesn’t translate to reading a bunch of self-help books.

When I talk about lifelong learning, I mean the ability to pick up a book and learn about any skill or topic you want. If you think about it, nonfiction books are basically years of knowledge accumulated by an expert, condensed into a few pages. You can find books about very niche topics without looking very hard.

Last year, I experienced this firsthand.

In early 2022, when I had the idea to write my first book, Supercharge Your Reading, I didn’t know the first thing about writing. So, what did I do? I went online and found a bunch of books on the topic. Within a couple of months, I learned a wealth of details about self-publishing and writing your first book on the side.

I also used books to help prepare for marriage.

Around the time my wife and I had our wedding, I read several books about relationships. I learned everything from love languages to apology languages to effective communication. For important topics like this, I can keep reading an endless number of books for the rest of my life to continue improving my skills.

But lifelong learning doesn’t need to have a reason.

We can do it just for fun.

I recently read a short book about real estate investing. Do I intend to become a real estate investor? Absolutely not. But the topic interested me, and I learned a lot about the industry's workings. I’ve also read books on other random topics, such as travel, minimalism, and religion.

By now, you get my point.

Building a reading habit and becoming a bookworm isn’t defined by how many books you can read. Instead, it’s determined by a more profound force. Whether it’s mindfulness, lifelong learning, or just pure entertainment, understanding your purpose will make all the difference.