Why I’m Not Challenging Myself This Year
Today I just wanted to talk to you a little about a decision I made at the beginning of this year.
I have decided that I will not be challenging myself in any way this year.
This may seem like a strong statement but I think, for me, it’s the only way to try and find my love of reading again. Yes, you read that right. In the last few months of the year I struggled to find enjoyment out of reading and I think it’s because I put too much pressure to read books by a certain time.
So this year I will not;
– Be doing a Goodreads Challenge.; You may notice in my sidebar that my challenge is to read 1 book. That is simply so that I can keep track of my books read and that is all.
– Be participating in any blog run challenges.; I think these are great, I do, but personally I find it just makes reading feel like too much of a chore. Like I HAVE to read this book because it’s for x challenge.
– Stop requesting books for review.; As of January 17th 2015, I will no longer request any book for review. I just can’t deal with the stress of it any more. I want to read the books I own and/or buy without feeling guilty about it.
– I will only read book club books/buddy reads that I want to; This again may seem harsh and restrictive and stubborn but I have SO MANY books I want to read and I just want to stop reading (and feeling I have to finish) books that I am not enjoying.
So yeah… that’s going to happen.
Maybe I’ll change my mind in the middle of the year. But for now, I need to do this or one of my hobbies is going to make me go a little crazy.
What about you? Are you participating in any challenges this year?
8 Comments
Jen -At Random
I’m with you, I’m not doing any challenges for the exact reasons. I JUST now started reading again after a 4 month lull and I think challenges would mess that up.
Here’s to a care free reading year! Cheers :)
Faye
Hope that it works for you as well. Lulls and slumps are so irritating. Like you want to read but just aren’t finding it fun. Here’s to this year being better!
Ash @ Typing Tiara
I’m participating in the Goodreads Challenge, though I did half my usual book count because I didn’t want to stress myself out over reading like I did last year…there’s just too much going on in my life and I don’t want reading to become yet another chore. I also challenged myself to read ten classics, and while I’d really like to do this and have done it every year prior, I’m not going to [at least I’m going to try not to] make a big deal out of it if I don’t hit those numbers. Same with the PopSugar Challenge I’m doing this year. They’re fun and they make me read things I wouldn’t normally have tried, which I like, but I don’t want to make them end all goals. [:
Faye
I think those all sound really good. I know that challenges are supposed to be fun and not something to stress about but it always ends up with me stressing and/or forgetting about them anyway. Hope you manage to keep your reading year stess-free! :)
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Anya
I think that’s a good idea, especially if you’ve fallen out of love with reading – take the pressure off yourself and read what you want! Hope it goes all right :)
Faye
Exactly! Thanks Anya. Hope that your reading year is stress-free too! :)