Students are often surprised at how many seemingly unrelated personal growth issues arise as they are learning speed reading. Why would studying how to read faster bring up issues of self-esteem, how much one believes in oneself, and the degree to which we have been conditioned to certain ideas? When you look below the surface, it starts to make sense.
We were taught to read in kindergarten through the third grade, very impressionable times in our lives. Often we were asked to read out loud by our teacher who then said, "now read to yourself." That speaking outloud to yourself is called subvocalization and it slows down your natural ability to read by as much as 50 percent. It limits you to reading at the speed of sound when you mind is quite capable of reading at the speed of sight.
You do not have to say the words aloud in your head to understand them. Do you say "stop" to yourself when you approach a stop sign on the road and think about what to do next? No. You recognize the pattern that is the word "stop" and through your learning and experience, you do what is necessary.
The same is possible for your reading. You don't have to think about the word. You know what it means and your mind can create all you need to experience the thought that the word generates. Then a gestalt experience is possible where you experience the ideas behind the words.
It is interesting to see how many people find an inner voice that tries to hold them back, to convince them that there is no way they could possibly know a word by just looking at it and generating the thought.
We were taught in school to slow down if the material is hard so that we would remember it better. Yet when people slow down in tough material, comprehension drops to barely 50 percent. This is not just a result of the material being difficult. It turns out that the slower you read, the LESS you remember. Yes, the faster you read, the more you will remember. It is the way your brain is wired.
Yet speed reading students will struggle at first as their minds try to hold them back, trying to make them believe that there is no way they could read fast. Often, after a practice session reading at a rate of about 3,000 to 5,000 words per minute (the average reader reads at 250 words per minute), I will ask a student what they got out of the section they were reading. Often, the initial response is "well, I didn't get anything - I was moving too fast." I'll say, "OK, sure." Then I will ask again, "but tell me what you noticed, anything at all." The student will start describing all kinds of information that they picked up. Even though they did comprehend quite a bit, their minds are so convinced that only by saying the words aloud in their head and reading them one at a time could they possibly get anything.
Our powers to disbelieve even that which unfolds before our own eyes is very strong. Years of doing or perceiving things a certain way can result in strong resistance to change. We often have a fear of change as well, especially of those things we have held dear for many years, even if they haven't been working for us!
But that voice of self-doubt can be soothed and ultimately quieted. Just tell yourself "you know brain, I get why you think we didn't comprehend anything, but the fact of the matter is that we did. I understand your disbelief, but let’s be open to new realms of possibility."
What if you tried this in other areas of your life as well? When self-doubts arise, when you believe that options are few, what if you decided that you might not be right? What if you left open the possibility that your perceptions might be influenced by your lifetime of experiences, observations, and conclusions, not all of which are valid? It's kind of freeing, when you think about it, the idea that you have more control over your emotions and perceptions than you have previously believed?
Always be on the lookout for wonderful discoveries about how you could change your perceptions, alter your way of being, and challenge the assumptions that have created your ideas about how the world works. It is an amazing journey.
