At 32 years old, I never thought that I would be learning so much about myself again. Be it my new perspective on being healthy inside & out, to habits that make me happy, it’s been a journey of self discovery. Recently I accepted the #Kobo7 7 Day eReading Challenge with Kobo where I was tasked with reading three books in seven days. I never realized how little time I was giving to myself and I learned three valuable lessons in the process using a brand new Kobo Glo HD.
As previously mentioned, when I was younger I was an avid reader and usually could be found with my nose in a book. As I got older, as with many of you, life got “busy” and before I knew it I would go months on end without reading anything for myself. There is a certain sense of tranquility that comes with taking the time to read, even if it is just a few minutes a day for yourself.
Using the Kobo Glo HD I was able to read When Sorry Isn’t Enough, Smarter Faster Better & The Dark Side of the Light Chasers during my daily commute, at home with Canela and before bed every night. I can now say with certainty that I look forward to reading on both my Kobo Glo HD and on my Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge using the Kobo App.
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“Kobo Glo HD is the perfect complement to the reading experience you know and love when you want added comfort, convenience and portability. Enjoy the comfort of the clearest, most book-like 6” HD Carta E Ink touchscreen with customizable fonts, sizes and margins. Read in direct sunlight with the anti-glare screen, or in complete darkness with the built-in adjustable ComfortLight. Kobo Glo HD is lighter than a hardcover book and lets you store thousands of eBooks. Take your entire library with you wherever you go and easily access new books from a catalog of over 4 million, anytime. Read an entire eBook on a single charge with up to 2 months of battery life* and enjoy the freedom of leaving your charger behind.”
So what three lessons did I learn about myself during the #Kobo7 challenge?
I deserve time to myself and shouldn’t feel guilty for taking it.
Every single person I know is guilty of this – when asked what they do to relax and unwind, they say “I don’t have the time.” The world we live in is fast paced and can quickly fill up your schedule with work, family, love and responsibilities. Over the course of seven days I realized that even a small interval of 15 minutes to turn off can make the biggest difference on my level of stress and my perspective of the world. I no longer feel bad for turning off the world in order to tune in with what I need most. The convenience of the Kobo Glo HD is a real step in the right direction to allowing myself the time I deserve.
Reading is an effective stress outlet
A lot of the time when I think of stress relief, I assume that means physical activity. Though I do believe being healthy does include a balance of physical fitness, it is also important to remember mental fitness helps to alleviate the responsibilities we are faced with daily. When I sit down to read, I put my phone away and immerse myself in a world that is mine alone. Where my imagination, my mind and my attention are focused on one thing vs. 221 at once. Stress comes in a lot of forms, but reading with my Kobo has made a real difference in the level of stress I allow myself to feel.
Only when I focus on myself can I truly give the world the best me.
This seems like a given, but it’s only over the seven day challenge that I came to understand what it really means. I have personally found balance by the addition of a Kobo Glo HD in my life and can attest to the fact that although it may have seemed like a chore in the beginning, it is now a pleasure and a healthy habit. Reading is something that I look forward to and now that I have given myself the time and outlet I deserve, I am able to stay more focused and more inspired during the rest of my busy day. Simple changes can truly make the biggest difference!
A quote that I have shared before that rings true comes from one of the books I read during the process:
“Rather, productivity is about making certain choices in certain ways. The way we choose to see ourselves and frame daily decisions; the stories we tell ourselves, and the easy goals we ignore; the sense of community we build among teammates; the creative cultures we establish as leaders: These are the things that separate the merely busy from the genuinely productive.”
― Charles Duhigg, Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive in Life and Business
It’s just this simple – finding balance has become a little easier using my Kobo Glo HD. I would challenge you to try the challenge and not feel the same way after just one week. Make sure to click here to register your Kobo account and automatically get a $5 credit towards your first Kobo eBook Purchase!
Want to learn more about Kobo and the ability to rediscover your love of reading? Head to www.kobo.com. For more inspiration on my challenge, make sure to follow @Kobo on Twitter, @KoboBooks on Instagram, ‘Like’ the Kobo Facebook Page. Follow the #Kobo7 hashtag as fellow media members take the challenge with me and we show you what we love most about Kobo from coast to coast!
For more behind the scenes of this and other amazing brands we are working with around the world, make sure to follow along with the #DoTheDaniel Instagram account. We would love to have you come along on our daily adventures with us!
Photos: Kobo & Daniel Reyes