Last week, I introduced Benjamin Franklin's commitment to crafting a method for self-improvement. This week, we will look at a couple of the specific components of this method. Both can help you achieve your own goals in 2025.
The story goes that a woman posed a question to Benjamin Franklin after he left the Constitutional Convention of 1787. “Well, Doctor," she asked, "what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?" Franklin's response has become famous: “A republic, if you can keep it."
Franklin's words are worth remembering at a time of year when many of us have made New Year's resolutions and are struggling to maintain the habits we started on January 1.
Franklin knew something about both republics and habits. Long before he participated in the Constitutional Convention, he was crafting a kind of constitution for himself: a set of principles he valued and wished to use as a guide for his personal behavior. He referred to them as "Virtues," and they included industry, frugality, moderation, and 10 other principles. Like a republic, Franklin's goal of a better self required effort and a system. He had to do more than simply envision it. He had to "keep" it.
A key to keeping it was a method that Franklin crafted after coming up with his list of virtues. He created a grid showing the virtues listed on the left and the days of the week along the top. Here he would place a mark for every lapse. For example, if he spent too much money one day, he could place a mark on the "Frugality" line in the column for that day. Similarly, if he found himself acting vainly, he could place a mark on the "Humility" row. At the end of the week, he could tell where he was falling short.
By the way, Franklin's original list had only 12 virtues. A friend who saw his list pointed out a certain character flaw that others had observed in Franklin and recommended that he add one more virtue: humility. Many years later, Franklin admitted that he had some trouble remaining modest. If you were the greatest scientist, inventor, and diplomat of your age, you might have the same problem. Then again, his friend made this observation before Franklin was any of these things.
There was another important aspect of Franklin's method. Although he marked his errors for all 13 virtues every week, he focused on mastering only one at a time — and for good reason. "And like him who having a Garden to weed," Franklin explained, "does not attempt to eradicate all the bad Herbs at once, which would exceed his Reach and his Strength, but works on one of the Beds at a time, and having accomplish'd the first proceeds to a second; so I should have, (I hoped) the encouraging Pleasure of seeing on my Pages the Progress I made in Virtue, by clearing successively my Lines of their Spots, till in the End by a Number of Courses, I should be happy in viewing a clean Book after a thirteen Week's daily Examination."
Writing about his project many years later, Franklin admitted that he never mastered order, and we should believe him. It has been noted that people who visited him when he was an American diplomat in France "were amazed to behold papers of the greatest importance scattered in the most careless way over the table and floor." (Can you imagine? "Hey, Ben, the king wants to have a look at that Treaty of Paris." "Uh, yeah, I think it's here somewhere . . .")
Still, Franklin could claim success with his endeavor. He wrote, "But on the whole, tho' I never arrived at the Perfection I had been so ambitious of obtaining, but fell far short of it, yet I was by the Endeavour a better and happier Man than I otherwise should have been, if I had not attempted it . . ."
Franklin's success may have a lot to do with his method. By tracking his lapses, he provided himself with a record that could guide and inspire him. Choosing to focus on one virtue at a time was also helpful. If he had tried to do everything at once, he probably would have become frustrated and perhaps even given up on his project.
Now it's your turn. Do you have a method for your New Year's resolution? You don't have to use Franklin's, but you might consider borrowing these two key components of it. First, track your progress, but I recommend marking your successes, not your failures. Scientist and habit expert B. J. Fogg recommends rewarding yourself when you succeed. Even something as simple as a little thumbs-up to yourself or a star on your tracking sheet can reinforce habit formation. Second, focus on one goal at a time. In their book Willpower, psychologist Roy Baumeister and co-author John Tierney explain, "When people have to make a big change in their lives, their efforts are undermined if they are trying to make other changes as well."
You don't have to approach self-improvement exactly as Franklin did, and you certainly don't have to strive to achieve all that he achieved, but a sound method — one that works for you — can go a long way. Who knows? You might even surpass Franklin in some respects. For starters, you can stop acting so proudly that people have to tell you to add humility to your list of goals and, for heaven's sake, clean off your desk.
We would love to learn how you are using the columns and podcasts to improve your life. Please drop us a line at mark.canada@mindinclined.org or post a comment. Finally, please remember to "like" the post if you read something that resonates with you. Thanks!
Enjoyable, usable, effective ideas/philosophy/methodology!