Benjamin Franklin original Mr Self Help ?
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Benjamin Franklin original Mr Self Help ?
I saw this over at Smart and wanted to share it because first off never knew this about Benjamin Franklin. Maybe our teachers here did? I could have been asleep that day in class!
Haha!
Reading a little more I discovered Franklin was a pretty good drinker back in the day, but I saw it was common because I guess the actual water supply had bacteria in it?
Its one excuse Ive never seen on the forum !
A couple important concepts were mentioned in comment, one is in order to have a desire to improve ourselves, we do not need to label ourselves. . Its ok to just want to look at where we are and make improvements, to learn, aspire to be a little different.. Smart doest use labels, our family doesnt either so I like the idea of plain old self improvement.
Poor Benjamin took on a big challenge because he wanted to reach his goal of moral perfection. He says he didnt make it, but he learned a lot in the process. Hahaha
Here's his plan!
BEN FRANKLIN’S CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT PLAN
Excerpts from - The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
(Translated from the original text for the modern reader)
At about this time, I came up with a bold and difficult project designed to help me achieve moral perfection. I wanted to live without committing any fault at any time. I decided that I would conquer all bad habits brought about by either, natural inclination, custom, or the company I was keeping. I thought that I knew well the difference between right and wrong, so I didn't see any reason why I could not become consistently right. I soon found out that this was a much more difficult task than I had imagined. Whenever I would begin to focus on one fault, I would suddenly be surprised by another. Habit took the advantage of inattention; inclination was sometimes too strong for reason. Over and over again, I concluded that the mere speculative conviction that it was my interest to be completely virtuous was not sufficient to prevent my slipping; the bad habits had to be broken, and good ones acquired and established, before I could depend on any steady consistency in my conduct. And so I came up with the following plan.
I'd read a few things about virtue and developing specific character traits. I found that many of these resources carried their own specific definitions as to what the certain virtues were. For example; "temperance" was confined by some to eating and drinking, while it was extended by others to mean the moderating every other pleasure, appetite, inclination, or passion, bodily or mental. I decided that in developing my own list, I would use more names with fewer ideas attached to them, than a few names with more ideas; and I included, under the thirteen names of virtues that I had chosen, all that seemed necessary or desirable at that time. Then I attached to each a brief guideline, which fully expressed the meaning as defined by myself. These names of these virtues, with their guidelines, were:
1. TEMPERANCE: Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.
2. SILENCE: Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.
3. ORDER: Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.
4. RESOLUTION: Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.
5. FRUGALITY: Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.
6. INDUSTRY: Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.
7. SINCERITY: Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.
8. JUSTICE: Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.
9. MODERATION: Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.
10. CLEANLINESS: Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes, or habitation.
11. TRANQUILITY: Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.
12. CHASTITY: Enjoy a healthy love life; never hurt anyone or their reputation.
13. HUMILITY: Imitate Jesus and Socrates.
My intention being to acquire the habit of all these virtues, I decided it would be a good idea to avoid distracting my attention by attempting the whole thing at once. Instead I chose to focus on each item one at a time, and when I had mastered one I should move on to the next and so on until I had mastered all thirteen. Realizing that daily examination would be necessary, I came up with the following method for conducting that examination.
I made a little book, in which I allotted a page for each of the virtues. I ruled each page with red ink, so as to have seven columns, one for each day of the week, marking each column with a letter for the day. I crossed these columns with thirteen red lines, marking the beginning of each line with the first letter of one of the virtues, on which line, and in its proper column, I might mark, by a little black spot, every fault I found upon examination to have been committed respecting that virtue upon that day.
I entered upon the execution of this plan for self-examination, and continued it with occasional intermissions for some time. I was surprised to find myself so much fuller of faults than I had imagined; but I had the satisfaction of seeing them diminish. After a while I went through one course only in a year, and afterward only one in several years, till at length I omitted them entirely, being employed in voyages and business abroad, with a multiplicity of affairs that interfered; but I always carried my little book with me.
In truth, I found myself incorrigible with respect to Order; and now I am grown old, and my memory bad, I feel very sensibly the want of it. But, on the whole, though' I never arrived at the perfection I had been so ambitious of obtaining, but fell far short of it, yet I was, by the endeavor, a better and a happier man than I otherwise should have been if I had not attempted it.
Haha!
Reading a little more I discovered Franklin was a pretty good drinker back in the day, but I saw it was common because I guess the actual water supply had bacteria in it?
Its one excuse Ive never seen on the forum !
A couple important concepts were mentioned in comment, one is in order to have a desire to improve ourselves, we do not need to label ourselves. . Its ok to just want to look at where we are and make improvements, to learn, aspire to be a little different.. Smart doest use labels, our family doesnt either so I like the idea of plain old self improvement.
Poor Benjamin took on a big challenge because he wanted to reach his goal of moral perfection. He says he didnt make it, but he learned a lot in the process. Hahaha
Here's his plan!
BEN FRANKLIN’S CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT PLAN
Excerpts from - The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
(Translated from the original text for the modern reader)
At about this time, I came up with a bold and difficult project designed to help me achieve moral perfection. I wanted to live without committing any fault at any time. I decided that I would conquer all bad habits brought about by either, natural inclination, custom, or the company I was keeping. I thought that I knew well the difference between right and wrong, so I didn't see any reason why I could not become consistently right. I soon found out that this was a much more difficult task than I had imagined. Whenever I would begin to focus on one fault, I would suddenly be surprised by another. Habit took the advantage of inattention; inclination was sometimes too strong for reason. Over and over again, I concluded that the mere speculative conviction that it was my interest to be completely virtuous was not sufficient to prevent my slipping; the bad habits had to be broken, and good ones acquired and established, before I could depend on any steady consistency in my conduct. And so I came up with the following plan.
I'd read a few things about virtue and developing specific character traits. I found that many of these resources carried their own specific definitions as to what the certain virtues were. For example; "temperance" was confined by some to eating and drinking, while it was extended by others to mean the moderating every other pleasure, appetite, inclination, or passion, bodily or mental. I decided that in developing my own list, I would use more names with fewer ideas attached to them, than a few names with more ideas; and I included, under the thirteen names of virtues that I had chosen, all that seemed necessary or desirable at that time. Then I attached to each a brief guideline, which fully expressed the meaning as defined by myself. These names of these virtues, with their guidelines, were:
1. TEMPERANCE: Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.
2. SILENCE: Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.
3. ORDER: Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.
4. RESOLUTION: Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.
5. FRUGALITY: Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.
6. INDUSTRY: Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.
7. SINCERITY: Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.
8. JUSTICE: Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.
9. MODERATION: Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.
10. CLEANLINESS: Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, clothes, or habitation.
11. TRANQUILITY: Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.
12. CHASTITY: Enjoy a healthy love life; never hurt anyone or their reputation.
13. HUMILITY: Imitate Jesus and Socrates.
My intention being to acquire the habit of all these virtues, I decided it would be a good idea to avoid distracting my attention by attempting the whole thing at once. Instead I chose to focus on each item one at a time, and when I had mastered one I should move on to the next and so on until I had mastered all thirteen. Realizing that daily examination would be necessary, I came up with the following method for conducting that examination.
I made a little book, in which I allotted a page for each of the virtues. I ruled each page with red ink, so as to have seven columns, one for each day of the week, marking each column with a letter for the day. I crossed these columns with thirteen red lines, marking the beginning of each line with the first letter of one of the virtues, on which line, and in its proper column, I might mark, by a little black spot, every fault I found upon examination to have been committed respecting that virtue upon that day.
I entered upon the execution of this plan for self-examination, and continued it with occasional intermissions for some time. I was surprised to find myself so much fuller of faults than I had imagined; but I had the satisfaction of seeing them diminish. After a while I went through one course only in a year, and afterward only one in several years, till at length I omitted them entirely, being employed in voyages and business abroad, with a multiplicity of affairs that interfered; but I always carried my little book with me.
In truth, I found myself incorrigible with respect to Order; and now I am grown old, and my memory bad, I feel very sensibly the want of it. But, on the whole, though' I never arrived at the perfection I had been so ambitious of obtaining, but fell far short of it, yet I was, by the endeavor, a better and a happier man than I otherwise should have been if I had not attempted it.
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