Musing Mondays (Aug.30)

This week’s musing asks…

How often do you actually put into practice what you learn from reading nonfiction books (if you read nonfiction, that is)?

This question is inspired, both by a friend of mine, and by my own recent musings. Well, maybe I shouldn’t say ‘recent’, as this has been nagging at me for over a year now. LOL.

I read a lot of nonfiction. I love to learn about how to change habits, or how to do things differently, or just how to do things, in general. I soak up books on any given topic that’s currently snagged my interest (I seem to go through phases where I’ll want to know anything & everything about a topic, and will read all the books I can get my hands on — or, at least collect all of the books I can — about the subject).

Problem is, I almost never apply what I’ve learned from all of that reading. I take in the knowledge, but what good is it to me if I never actually use it?

This is something that really bugs me — the fact that I don’t usually try to put into practice what I’ve learned. Sure, I have done so, occasionally. But, overall, this isn’t something I do. I just keep reading.

I’ve had the thought to slow down on my reading so that I can practice more of what I’ve learned. But, the idea of missing that next great book just scares me from giving up my precious reading time.

When my friend and I were discussing this, I told him how I think maybe fear has a lot to do with why people don’t try to practice what they’ve learned. Fear of failure, fear of change, fear of disappointment… For me, fear of disappointment is probably the biggest one. What if I try it and it doesn’t turn out like I’d planned? like I’d hoped? Then what?

One of my biggest nagging thoughts is that I don’t often practice what I’ve learned in my Bible study group. I mean, if I’m going to go to Bible study, and spend all of that time doing the homework to learn what I’m supposed to be learning, shouldn’t I be trying to apply it to my life? Isn’t that the whole point?

What’s the point of reading nonfiction if you aren’t going to actually learn something USEful from it, right? Otherwise you’re just amassing (sp?) knowledge — and what good is knowledge if it isn’t used for something?

My friend had a good idea: He said that he’s made a list of his top 5 favorite books, and he’s going to spend the coming year putting into practice what he’s learned from those books. I think it’s a great idea, and I applaud him for going for it! I only hope I can gather up the courage to do the same.

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT with either the link to your own Musing Mondays post, or share your answer in a comment here (if you don’t have a blog). Thanks!

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