Hey Reader,

Most people blame distraction for why they stop reading.

I blamed myself.

I thought I was lazy. Undisciplined. Too slow to keep up with all the "smart" people online and the stacks of business books they tore through every week.

Eventually my own stacks of "must-reads" felt as heavy as the guilt of not keeping up with the people I wanted to model in the world of writing and teaching online.

One day I realized I hadn't read a novel in months. Since first grade I've loved fiction. What happened?

It was the sound of a deeper problem.

What looked like a "reading problem" was really a self-trust problem. Somewhere along the way, I'd stopped trusting that what interested me was enough. I thought curiosity needed to earn its keep.

I didn't need another system. I needed permission to stop auditioning for "serious creative" status.

Here's what I learned: The secret to reading more isn't discipline—it's trust.

Trust that following your curiosity will lead you exactly where you need to go. Trust that reading what you actually want builds momentum, not guilt. Trust that becoming your best self doesn't require proving anything to anyone.

When I quit trying to read like a professional learner and started following curiosity, the noise cleared. Reading became quiet again.

And from that moment, everything else began to rebuild.

My first rabbit holes were pure joy: a John le Carré novel on a rainy Tuesday afternoon, then British authors, Cold War spy fiction and nonfiction, and finally female writers chronicling female spies—books I never would've "allowed" myself before.

I didn't just read more. I became more alive.

The moment I stopped trying to keep up, I started keeping faith—with myself, with words, with time. And that trust? It didn't just restore my reading life. It rebuilt my creative life, my confidence, my sense of who I was becoming.

The real productivity hack isn't speed. It's trusting yourself.

If you've stopped reading because it turned into another kind of hustle, start again tonight.

One page. Something you actually want.

Watch what happens when you trust yourself enough to follow it.

Tracy "finally reading what I want" Winchell

P.S. Kindle Unlimited or your local library card both count. And if you want company while you rebuild your reading life, my tip jar is here—it keeps this newsletter free and fueled by espresso instead of ads.

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