5 Books I Couldn't Read Back Then, But Resonate With Me Now: Stories of Being 'Pushed Forward' by Books I Had Left Unread
Books I couldn't read in the past, I can read now
~A 're-reading experience' where I noticed my own changes~
Books I bought a long time ago but barely read.
Books I thought I read, but remember nothing of.
Books that remained as 'tsundoku' (unread piles).
Recently, I've started picking those books up again.
For example—
1. 'First, Listen Properly'
2. 'Listening Skills Are the Ultimate Weapon'
I bought both of these several years ago, and while there were sticky notes showing I had read them, almost nothing remained in my memory.
But now, for me, as I study 'active listening' to become an industrial counselor,'listening skills'are exactly the skills I need.
The content sank into my mind with surprising ease.
3. 'The Power of Questioning to Bring Out the Best Results'
I had only bought this one too and didn't feel like reading it, but now that I've started learning active listening, I felt that 'I need this skill too,' and naturally began reading it.
The feeling of my learning connecting within me.
This, too, might be proof of my growth.
4. 'Those Who Can Make Decisions in Crucial Moments, and Those Who Can't'
This is a book I bought over 20 years ago and had never read once.
Then why did I buy it?
I even find myself asking that (laughs).
I suspect I bought it when I was being pushed around by life at a toxic company, struggling with whether I should stay or look for a new path.
But I never got around to reading it—or rather, I used my busyness as an excuse not to...
But now, having taken early retirement and facing 'how to live my own life,' my hand naturally reached for this book.
As I read it, it overlapped with my experiences as a corporate employee, and
I found myself feeling, 'I might be able to use this insight for my X posts.'
5. 'That Boss Is a Huge Nuisance'
I read this when I was in my late 30s.
This book features many types of 'difficult bosses'.
Although I nodded until my neck nearly snapped at their characteristics and the strategies to deal with them, my immature self just couldn't put them into action...
I remember feeling frustrated at the time because I couldn't change my workplace or my way of life.
I really think I was immature.
But when I reread it, the 'power-harassing bosses' I fought in real life almost perfectly matched the 'difficult bosses' in this book, and I could relate them to my own experiences.
I can now overlap them with my own real-life experiences.
Right now,'I want to share tips on how to protect yourself with people who are struggling at work.'
I have come to think that way.
■ It's not that the 'book changed,' but that 'I changed'
Even with the same book, how it resonates with you is completely different depending on when you read it.
A book I couldn't read in the past, I can read easily now.
It might be like a'mirror'that reflects your own changes.
And now,
I am reading not just to read, but with the perspective of sharing it with someone else.
I think that is the big difference from before.
If you have books you bought long ago sleeping on your bookshelf,
please try picking one up gently.
Perhaps the perfect words for who you are now are waiting for you there.
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