Why You Need Reading as the Start Line of Self-Improvement
The first step to improving your life starts with reading.
“I don’t know where to start.”
That was me at the beginning of my self-improvement journey.
Overwhelmed. Drowning in YouTube videos. Consuming too much with no action. I kept getting pulled into the self-help rabbit hole, watching random tips, hacks, and advice, but never actually doing anything.
Just scrolling, just watching, just… lost.
Why is this happening?
The truth is…
We live in a world that makes distraction easy.
AI.
Infinite scroll.
Endless noise.
Social media algorithms.
We’re not doomed by evil tech.
We’re doomed by being distracted.
The Shiny Things That Get You Nowhere
I live in Indonesia.
And here, we have this old saying about “shiny things in the river.”
When you see something shiny floating, it’s probably not gold — it’s usually just poop. Gross, I know. But real.
That’s what social media has become: shiny distractions.
They look valuable, but they’re not.
Dropshipping, hustle gurus, get-rich-quick schemes, productivity hacks — they all look like shortcuts to a better life. But if you chase them all at once, they become your chaos.
This is what I called “productive procrastination.”
When Self-Improvement Feels Like a Cult
Eventually, I got tired of it.
Even reading and journaling — things I once loved — started to feel like cult rituals. I felt burnt out. I wanted to escape.
Games and mindless content started to feel easier than facing my own growth.
And that’s when I realized the real problem wasn’t self-improvement. It was my approach to self-improvement.
I had no focus, no direction, and no foundation.
So I grabbed a book. Randomly. With no plan.
Just hoping that maybe — just maybe — this one book could help.
It didn’t work immediately.
Weeks passed. Then months. I didn’t feel like I was growing.
But there are things that I learned that I didn’t realize at first:
I was more focused
I became more creative
My thoughts were clearer
I didn’t get bored easily
Reading was working quietly in the background.
How Reading Truly Started My Journey
Eventually, I made reading a habit.
Not because it was trendy. But because it made me better. I challenged myself to read a book every week. I read during my free time. I turned boredom into learning. Little by little, it became my identity.
I wasn’t just someone who read.
I become someone who I called a reader.
How I Built My Reading Habit
I didn’t start by reading a book a week.
It started with one sentence. Then one page. Then a five-minute session. And that journey is not smooth.
I missed days.
I fell off.
But I got back up.
That’s the key.
Now, reading is part of who I am. Becoming it as my identity doesn’t have to be hard; it only needs consistency. The consistency of getting back up even if I fall, and the consistency of improving even if I don’t want to. That’s where I started to become great at learning.
Key Takeaways
Reading is the best way to begin self-improvement.
Because without knowledge, you don’t know where to go. And without clarity, you’ll just keep consuming shiny distractions.
Here’s how to start:
Pick a book you’re curious about (don’t overthink it)
Read just one sentence a day
Build up to 5 minutes a day (each week — it’s up to you)
Stay consistent — even when it feels boring
Identify yourself as a reader
That’s it.
Simple. Not easy. But powerful.
Why Reading Is the Foundation of Self-Improvement?
Everyone is on a self-improvement journey — whether they know it or not.
But most people lack structure. They don’t know what to focus on or where to begin. That’s where reading comes in. Because reading is not just a habit. It’s a compass that leads you to a meaningful transformation.
That’s why reading is one of the best starting points for a self-improvement journey.
And you don’t have to be alone in starting that journey. I’ve made a free newsletter with a Discord community for you to start building reading habits. You can click the link below!