Path to Self Improvement as followed by Benjamin Franklin

A lot of people want happiness, peace, health, and joy. They want to live a life of fulfillment and passion, but they don’t know where to start, and they don’t know how to do it.

So if you’re one of those people, consider taking Path to Self Improvement.

Today, I’m gonna be discussing why we need self-improvement. So you might know that self-improvement is right for you, but it might still not be clear why we should adopt a lifestyle of self-improvement.

Let me ask you this on a fundamental level –

1. Do you have a desire to become better, in other words, do you wish to live a life that keeps improving steadily as you go up
2. Or do you want to live a life that goes up and down up and down up and down as the years’ pass
3. Or do you want to live a life that peaks and then declines as the years go by

I think it’s a safe bet to say most people want to live a life that steadily increases and gets better, right?

To live that kind of lifestyle that keeps getting better year after year after year, we must adopt a habit of continuously practicing self-improvement.

What does that mean? It means becoming a better person today then you were yesterday. You don’t have to think big. There are many small little actions, small little ways that I can do to become a better person today than I was yesterday.

For example, let’s say that your coworker makes you really mad. Let’s say that there’s someone really irks your buttons, and every time this person talks to you or does something to you get very, very irritated. It drains your energy, and it makes you feel bad about yourself and evil at work.

So if you genuinely have this desire to become a better person today than you were yesterday, think about how you can engage with this person or express your emotions to this person.

Do something, whether it’s saying something acting a certain way, reacting a certain way something that’s just one little change. 1% change that makes you handle this situation better today than you did yesterday.

I think a reason why a lot of people get stuck and not know what to do for self-improvement. It’s because we tend to think way too big. We try to think of making significant actions to change our life – “I have to radically change my diet to become skinnier.” “I have to change all of this.”

We think way too big, and when you feel too big, we don’t know what step we need to take towards that goal.

So instead of thinking too big, think one little act. If something bothers you and you tend to react with anger, think how can you can change your reaction. So that you react better today than you did yesterday.

So think about 1% change how are you’re gonna improve your life 1% better than yesterday.

Path to Self Improvement as followed by Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin made a list of 13 virtues that he wanted to accomplish as a human being. He tried to improve his life. He wanted to become a virtuous person.

So he made 13 rules for himself and those rules are – 

1. Temperance – Eat and drink modestly
2. Silence – Don’t speak unnecessary words and have pointless conversations
3. Order – Let everything have its own place and time
4. Resolution – Be resolute in your goals and accomplish your goals no matter what
5. Regality – Don’t spend useless money
6. Industry – Always be diligent. Don’t waste time
7. Sincerity – Don’t be mean to others
8. Justice – Don’t do wrong unto others
9. Moderation – Avoid extremes and avoid swinging back and forth
10. Cleanliness – Be physically clean and keep your space clean as well
11. Tranquility – Don’t let little things get to you
12. Chastity – don’t use sex for a mere pleasure to avoid pain
13. Humility – Imitate Jesus and Socrates

He had these thirteen virtues, and every time he didn’t follow through with that rule, he would put a little dot in his notebook.

He shared that, the first day, he had so many thoughts in all of these rules because it was tough for him to do this at first, but after months and years, every day, he looked how many times he missed that goal.

But he said that first, there are so many thoughts everywhere in all the thirteen virtues. Still, as time went on since he was mindful and he had a goal of becoming a right, virtuous person, the dots would be less, less, less, and less until he perfected his character.

I believe that’s a big reason why Ben Franklin was able to accomplish so many things in his life.

I’m not saying that you have to stick to all of Ben Franklin’s virtues. You can create your own merits that have meaning for you. But my point is that a lot of people want happiness, peace, health, and joy; they want to live a life of fulfillment and passion, but they don’t know where to start, and they don’t know how to do it.

So if you’re one of those people consider taking on a life of self-improvement, make a promise with yourself that you will work do your best.

You don’t have to be perfect

Do your best to become a better person today than you were yesterday.

1. Don’t think big think small – “What is that one thing I can do.”
2. Whether it’s a thought – “what’s that one thought I can have better today than yesterday.”
3. Whether it’s words – “What is one word I can say that’s more kinder and gentle today than yesterday.
4. Can be actions – “What is that one action I can do that is more in line with who I want to be today than yesterday.

And like Ben Franklin, if you commit to that lifestyle every single day, you will improve 1% every day until you get to a point where you look back a year later. You’re a totally different person than you were last year.

Conclusion

So self-improvement is about becoming a better person, but it also connects back with the journey inside. Because like Ben Franklin, he created his own 13 virtues based on what was important to him by reflecting on his life, seeing what he needed to work on.

Seeing what things would make him a better person. Understanding that being observant of what you want to know.

What you want is the first step to knowing “how I can improve my life, to begin with.” When you can clearly see the shortcomings that you have, the things that don’t necessarily make you very proud of yourself in this present moment.

When you can see that clearly, then you can take the steps on how you can improve your life. So if you’re ambitious, if you’re someone who wants to live their best experience on this earth, then self-improvement is something that must be in your toolbox. Must be in your back pocket to think about as you live the life that you create

Featured Image – Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels

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