Healthy Habits

Free Books and Free Time: How to Read More During Your Day for Free

A few months ago I talked about how getting back into reading has been one of the best decisions I’ve made in recent memory and has expanded my worldview immensely. 

One of the most common responses I get when talking about this is: “I would love to read more but I just can’t find the time”.

This is certainly how I’ve felt a lot of my life! Maybe you can relate. Whether you’re in school or working a 9 to 5, when you get off in the evening it’s often already a game of almost impossible Tetris trying to fit in all of your tasks as is, nonetheless thinking about adding another task: reading.

The Blank Space Theory: How An App Might be Ruining Your Life

Last month, I read a book called Digital Minimalism, by Cal Newport. This book has been changing my life.

Flavor: Why “Tasty” Shouldn’t Have to Mean “Unhealthy”

There is a narrative of payment that underlies the understanding of food and nutrition for a lot of us. The idea that good-tasting food must be unhealthy, must be high in sugars and fats, must be inherently “bad” for you in some way. That it has to cost you something to eat something tasty. That healthy foods are inherently bad-tasting and that unhealthy foods are inherently good-tasting. This leads to an emotional trap of guilt, where we feel guilty for eating the good-tasting unhealthy foods and annoyed when eating the bad-tasting healthy foods. This description of food as either “good” or “bad”, while sounding cartoonish and absurd to some, is something I see repeated again and again throughout society, consciously or unconsciously. It’s a lie.

Little Steps: How Small Informed Changes Can Make You Healthier than Any Diet

From the “team” here at The Estero Story, we wish you a Happy New Year! 🙂

When it comes to the New Year, a lot of people make New Years resolutions. Dieting, more exercise, and some vague concept of “being healthier” are among the most common.

On Reading: Thoughts and Book Recommendations

Thoughts

This year, I decided I would make it a personal goal to try to start reading more. While over time the details of the why have evolved, my initial motivations were to rekindle some of that childlike wonder I had for books as a kid and to invest in a medium that had more substance to offer than the dozens of YouTube videos I was guzzling; enjoying but not really reaching any point of personal fulfillment or deeper enjoyment out of. It accomplished both and then some. I had heard about people who started reading more and who subsequently felt a substantial change in their life and in how they thought. I thought this was probably hyperbole (like with a lot of things in life), but no — it was actually totally accurate. Regular reading helped expand my worldview and my tools for thought in multiple different ways, beyond just becoming a fun and relaxing activity.