Kristina Paltén, Alone Through Iran, 1144 Miles of Trust – The Negative Influence of Media
Kristina Paltén – ultra-runner, two-time world-record holder, and adventurer – talks about courage, fear, and the negative influence of media.
Besides strengthening your attention span, reading supports you intellectually and creatively—stimulation which people often lack in our modern education system.
There’s a good chance that this isn’t any breaking news to you. If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance you may already know this. There are hundreds of websites advertising the benefits of reading. Why would this article be any different?
I’m aware of this fact. That’s why I want to argue for a specific type of reading material in this article. The type of books that I believe are the best type for anyone, regardless of their interests. Which type of books, you may ask?
Literature.
By literature I mean the art form associated with writing. Literature is often classified into prose, drama, and poetry. Examples are “Crime and Punishment” by Fyodor Dostoevsky, the poems your sister writes, or plays by William Shakespeare.
The authors don’t have to be famous and esteemed. What is important is that they are artistic. And I want to argue for literature and its importance.
Why literature?
Because it’s the richest discipline out there. The one type of writing I would contrast literature with is self-development books (any one of those books you think about when you hear the words ‘business’, ‘finance’, ‘health’, etc.).
Some of these works are excellent and they provide great advice for your personal and professional life, but they lack something, a certain je-ne-sais-quoi. For lack of a better word, I use the word “soul”, analogous with its use in music when you say a certain song has soul—something that moves you deeply.
This is what literature has in contrast with any other type of book.
It’s the stories they tell and the way they are told that makes literature different to me.
Good literature is not made for the reader but made for the writer. The goal is not to make money; the goal is therapy.
Literature is a medium for the writer to express his or her deepest desires, passions, fears, etc.
This process establishes a deeply personal connection between the story and the writer. This is the importance of literature.
Reading this type of story can give the reader a peek into this beautiful process.
The reader will never establish the same unique connection with either the book or the writer, but he can come very close. While learning this process, he learns about the feelings, thoughts, and deepest desires of the writer. It makes him more human.
This is my main and strongest argument for reading literature. However, I don’t want to bore you with other, less important arguments, so I want to continue with some tips for new readers of literature.
I realize that getting started may be a lot harder than getting you convinced, so I’ve included these four tips to kick-start you into Wonderland.
The best place to start is with the literature of your native country. Most cultures have a rich literary culture. They’re a great way to learn about your own cultural heritage. I’m also going to say with 95% certainty that these books are in your native tongue, so that makes it even easier to start reading them.
If you’re not sure which books to read, you can always google the most popular literary works of your country, or you can go ask your local library. The librarian will definitely have a very good idea about your local literature and its importance.
Try buying your books at your local, independent bookshop. People working there are a good source of recommendations. There’s also a good chance that they organize interesting lectures and workshops at the store, where you can learn even more about literature.
All this learning, I love it. If there aren’t any local options available, you can use websites like Amazon and Goodreads as good sources of recommendations.
I’m tempted to say that you shouldn’t be cutting out time to read because it should be a natural thing, just picking up a book when you feel like reading. However, this can be hard for new readers so you’ll have to force yourself a bit.
Dedicate a block of time to reading. It doesn’t matter what time of day; just force yourself to read. The more you read, the more you’ll start to love it, and it will eventually become a natural thing.
The last and most important tip I have for you is: don’t over-analyze. Some people get flashbacks about school when I mention the word ‘literature’. They remember writing essays about mandatory books which they didn’t care about. Hours of boring English classes on Shakespeare. I get that.
The science of literature isn’t for everyone, but the stories are. Stories are what make us human. Ever since we had proper language, we’ve been telling stories to each other to overcome our fears, to understand the world better, to become better humans.
Reading is not only the best thing you can do for your brain, but also for your soul.
Working on yourself can be scary, overwhelming, confusing, messy, challenging, and lonely. On this podcast, hosted by Jellis Vaes, an aspiring clinical psychologist who once battled severe emotional struggles, you’ll gain valuable insights from experts in psychology, neuroscience, and relationships, as well as people like you and me, to support you on your mental health journey, help you feel less alone, and untangle some of the complexity of mental health.
For more support, visit Inner Path Seekers.
Show notes can be found here:https://theipsproject.com/2026/04/reason-we-stay-addicted-kevin-cornelius/
Addiction is complex, deeply human, and often misunderstood.
In this episode, we take a grounded and practical look at what addiction really is and how it can be treated effectively.
I’m joined by Kevin Cornelius, a licensed marriage and family therapist and clinical director at the Feeling Good Institute Silicon Valley.
Kevin specializes in TEAM-CBT, a powerful and evolving therapeutic approach developed by psychiatrist David Burns.
What I am hoping you get out of this episode, besides learning some of the reasons why people stay addicted, is that you will learn some practical techniques to start taking a small step toward freeing yourself from whichever addiction you might be struggling with.
If, after this episode, you’d like to learn more about the effects addiction has on the brain, do have a listen to the episode I did with Dr. Grisel, titled The Brain on Addiction.
📚The IPS Academy📚
If you feel that you’ve gained some insights and lessons from this video, and you are curious to see what else we offer at The IPS Project, check out The IPS Academy, where we offer online courses taught by guests here on the podcast.
Simply go to https://theipsproject.com/academy. Each course has a few lessons to try for free, so you get a taste of what the course is like. We have countless reviews from other students so you can see what others think, and there is a 30-day money-back guarantee if you end up not liking the course.
Again, check them out at https://theipsproject.com/academy
Kristina Paltén – ultra-runner, two-time world-record holder, and adventurer – talks about courage, fear, and the negative influence of media.
Inside you, you have the key to true freedom. But how does one find that key? By understanding the fact that life is a playground.
Richard Ayling is a life coach and a Wim Hof instructor. Learn in this interview about the Wim Hof Method and how to become superhuman.