In a moment of “What should I read next?!?” angst I picked up Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography. Picked up is probably a misnomer as I read it on my Kindle, although I DO have to pick up the Kindle, so there’s that. I was shocked at how likable, charming, and relatable he is with his 313-year-old self. Who knew?
In the second section of Benny’s autobiography (I feel we are in a long-distance friendship–the distance being time–so we have pet names for each other. His ghost calls me Sassafras.) which he penned in his 80s, he detailed a system he had devised in his youth for self-improvement. He initially chose 12 areas to work on and eventually added a 13th after a Quaker friend pointed out that he struggled with pride. He continued using this system for many years and found it quite useful and I got it in my head that I should try it, too. What does one do after making a decision like that? One starts a blog, of course! Ack! I know, I know, I’m the worst. Nevertheless, that is how this blog began and I will be posting once a day about my progress with my old pal Benny’s system.
December 2019 REBOOT-ARAMA!!! That makes abject failure sound fun, right? I’m going to have to start again with some changes, the main one being that I am going to tackle one virtue a month and double up during one of the months since I’ve never figured out how to cram an extra month in there somewhere for recreation and binge-watching. Thirteenth month would not be a good choice for Industry month. Related: Thirteenth month sounds lame. I shall rename you Euphrosyne after the Roman god of joy. Aren’t you glad I wasn’t in charge of naming your children? Here are the 13 Virtues:
Temperance
Silence
Order
Resolution
Frugality
Industry
Sincerity
Justice
Moderation
Cleanliness
Tranquility
Chastity
Humility
Frankie’s method was to put a tick mark for each time he failed to live up to one of the virtues. I will be targeting one per month and drawing them from a hat to add to the suspense. Who knows, if I keep it up this year perhaps next year I will try to do all thirteen simultaneously. Now for the big question–do I start now, or on January 1st, 2020? I shall decide TOMORROW! Duh-duh-duuuuuuuhhhhhhhh.
13 Virtues for a Year 