Why do we love reading the same articles again and again?

Today I wrote an article talking about how to get better at writing through practice and reading. I wrote a few similar articles in the past and whenever I do it, I get some rewards for it. I repeat myself (with good intention), yet I still get rewarded for it from all the people who read the same things again and again.

I cannot blame them especially because I do the same thing. God knows how much time I spent reading articles about programming, even tho I am not a programmer. I just love reading about that topic because I want to learn more in case I will start learning how to code again in the future.

We love reading about the topics we're interested in multiple times because it makes us feel like we're making progress. We got used to the idea that we learn new things by reading, and whenever we read something again and again we think we're learning about that topic.

For example, if you read about writing every single day, even tho you don't spend a lot of time writing things, you may think you're making progress and you're learning new things about writing that you will apply one day in your work. It's the same with programming, graphic design, building things and all kind of topics.

We like reading the same things because it makes us feel good and it adds a feeling of security when it comes to our skill. If you read about something you must be learning about that thing, right? Yes and no. You usually learn by doing, especially when it comes to writing, coding, mathematics and similar things.

However, no matter how much we know that, we still love reading about the same topics. We still love feeling good about learning something new, even tho we're not making progress. It's something we all experience and most of the time we cannot do anything about it.

The only thing you can try to focus on whenever you feel like you're reading something too many times without actually improving is to take your time and also practice. If you're reading about writing, take one hour a day and write something as well. It doesn't matter what, you just need to do it.

This way you will read about the same topics multiple times while also making progress and feeling like you're moving forward. Combining practice with reading about a topic and trying to see how others experienced what you do will help you get where you want faster and without a lot of trouble.

It's okay if we read about the same things again and again. We just need to figure out how to also practice and how to not rely on reading to learn something. In the end, what matters is that we make progress, and if reading is part of that process, then who can blame us for reading the same things again and again?