Wellness Wednesday Tip #51: Read a New Book!

Happy Wellfie Wednesday friends! Tip of the week comes from @Eric_in_AmERICa

     This week’s tip is simple, read a new book! With the ease of access to information that technology provides today, reading a book is a forgotten past-time that is often glossed over by cruising Facebook, watching a Youtube video, or skimming a blog (thanks for choosing ours by the way). Granted, some of the information printed in text can be outdated (looking at you, PT textbooks), and technology allows us to stay up to date with the latest information, but I would still argue that there are timeless classics like Dale Carnegie's How To Win Friends and Influence People whose principles are still applicable nearly a century after it was written.

     Pro Tip: technology is so awesome that you don’t even have to read books anymore, you can just listen to them instead. Check out Audible and it’s free alternative Overdrive in your phone’s app store. Overdrive is a free app similar to Audible, but rather than paying a monthly fee you can reserve books for free using your library card! Overdrive features both e-books and audiobooks that can be checked out as they are available. Full disclosure: I have found over the past few years of using Overdrive that many books I’m interested in checking out are not available at my library. I think it’s less of a knock on the app and more of a limited selection by my rural Maryland public library membership (C’mon Carroll County, get it together!)

     Two of the most impactful books I’ve read (or listened to) have both come in the past 6 months or so. The first is Grit by Angela Duckworth which examines how success is more determined by perseverance and passion than innate intelligence or having the right ingredients on paper. Duckworth illustrates this theory through research she performed on cadets at West Point and later by interviewing top performers in business, sports, and education. Fascinating read, especially for anyone going through a transitional period and struggling to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

     The second book is Mindset by Carol Dweck which examines how thought patterns tend to fall into two categories; “fixed” meaning that something is the way it is and can’t be changed, and “growth” meaning that any ability can be developed. Dweck illustrates how high achievers tend to fall into the “growth” mindset and often times can attribute their success simply to believing that their dreams were achievable. This book was utterly fascinating and dives deep into intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation, applications for raising children, and much more. Read it.

     So check out this week’s recommendations and let us know what you think! Or feel free to recommend some of your favorite books to help improve mindset, health, or wellness! Thanks again for all of the #WellfieWednesday support, be sure to post your pictures this week and tag the WW crew members (@PBernerSPT, @Eric_in_AmERICa, @AaronPerezPT, @fitnerdaimee, @DianaKlatt) and keep the wave of healthy change going!

- WW Crew