The Fiction Faction

Many people have questioned me about the benefit of reading fiction. How do you hone your cognitive muscles? Gaining knowledge? Or how can you quantify your rational judgment toward something if you always reading fiction? Well, we surely can’t justify those questions into one solid answer.

If you’re looking for the answers, you must definitely want to learn the ways that will help you to develop yourself or furthermore, increase your understanding of the world. But in this case, I’ll make you change your perspective on fiction books (to some extent, very page-turning stories you don’t wanna miss out on).

Fiction books have always been an escape destination for some people from their swamped days (by all means, there’s nothing wrong with that). By calling fiction mere time-wasting stories, some people strike off its importance. When we read (ANYTHING!), we hone and strengthen several cognitive muscles. Recent neuroscience research believed reading literary fiction helps people develop empathy, critical thinking, and theory of mind.

Research suggests reading literary fiction is effective to enhance your brain’s ability to keep an open mind while processing information, a big plus for effective decision-making. Fiction works well in shaping our character, sensitivity, and humanity in our daily life. The narrative sentences allow us, the reader, to work through sensitive and nuanced issues openly and honestly. Fiction helps us learn to react in a difficult situation or even a dense discussion at work or school. Well for me, It’s like I can predict how people would counter in a certain situation sometimes, something I never thought otherwise.

I’m not saying reading non-fiction is a no-no to improving your brain’s skills. Moreover, everything you read is a self-investment to evolve yourself. When CEOs may be reluctant to invest money, you can invest your time to read books. That’s a win-win for me.