I mentioned before that last year, after reading The Fringe Hours, I made it a goal of mine to read more. I used to love reading and devoured books, but as I’ve gotten older I haven’t always made that a priority so I thought I’d try and make it a goal. I didn’t tell anyone about it, but I set the goal in January of 2015 to read 12 books that year. Younger me would be appalled at that small number, but post-depression me saw it as a worthy goal. And I’m happy to report that I did it! I literally finished book 12 on December 31st. But I did it! That’s all that mattered to me.

So this year, I set the goal to read one book a month. For those good with math, yes, that’s still 12 books in a year. Doesn’t mean I can’t read more (or less) if I feel like it, but it’s doable so I’m going with it.

I thought some of my friends who are readers might want to check out some of what I’m reading so here we are.

LOVING this book. @nickikoziarz

A photo posted by Christina L (@christinaplainandsimple) on

This month, I read 5 Habits of a Woman Who Doesn’t Quit by Nicki Koziarz, thanks to a recommendation from Sarah at The Sarah R. Bagley Podcast.

In the book, the author outlines how and why we quit and how to cultivate habits that will help prevent you from quitting.

Honestly, I wasn’t surprised to find out that I’m a Quiet Quitter. Basically, I quit before I get started. I talk myself out of things all. the. time. I am fantastic at finding new things to do and then talk myself out of them. My internal dialog consists of, “This is a great idea! But…”

want to follow through. I want to do so many things. It’s the “but” that gets me. But I’ll never be good at it. But I don’t have (make) time for it. But it won’t be perfect so why bother?

If I’m truly honest, I think this book really hit me hard. It’s made me face all of those things that I quit. It made me face why. I’m still dealing with these thoughts. I’m still dealing with the conviction. I don’t want to quit. I want to be brave enough to step out and do things, even if I fail. I want to be brave enough to step out and do things, even if I don’t feel like it. I don’t have to be beholden to those feelings of doubt.

Overall, I really loved this book. As a matter of fact, I loved it so much, I ran out and bought a book called Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath that was recommended by the author. It’s designed to help you find and build on your strengths rather than your weaknesses. I gave that a read too! And I took the Strengths Finder 2.0 test. I’m still digging in to the results of that test, but so far things have been eye opening for me and it’s sparking a lot of positive thought.

I will tell you that the book has a Christian slant to it, so if that’s not your thing, I just wanted you to know. I still think it’s worth a read even if you aren’t normally drawn to that.

You can find more information about the book here: 5HabitsBook.com and you can even get a free chapter to give it a try. I love that!

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