Franklin's Virtues
January 23, 2018•388 words
Having just read a great article on the Business Insider, I feel like I need to speak about my own ambitions in the arena of virtue.
The article discusses the 13 virtues that Ben Franklin outlined as the virtues he wanted to work on and improve. I don't have a list of virtues, per se, but I have a list of habits that I would like to develop and maintain. However, after reading the article, I think maybe I should add some true virtues to the mix.
Something that I have been wanting to do on a daily basis, is the simple act of writing down my goals for the day, every day. This may seem as very simple and trivial, but I find that orienting yourself throughout the day with some goals is a really excellent way to be more productive.
Another habit, is what I am doing now, writing more. I don't aspire to be a writer full-time, but I find that writing teaches us the importance of clarity of thought, which almost always translates into clarity of prose. Training my mind for the clarity needed on the daily job grind is a worthy goal in my view, and something that will come in handy whether I am writing or doing something else unrelated. Clarity is the goal here.
Lastly, a habit that I intend to really develop in 2018 is what I will call organized persistence. I often find myself juggling multiple tasks that all seem to take way longer than any of them should, and I believe that's a combination of a distracted mind, and a lack of pure persistence. I want to develop a methodology that allows me to be persistent about my goals and tasks, and be organized in that persistence so that I end up finishing my tasks in a reasonable timeframe. Duration is not the only goal, however, but quality as well. Jumping from task to task ends up in the quality of the products deteriorating, and organized persistence will help me raise the quality of what I work on, as well as lower the time it takes me to finish what I am working on.
Read Ben Franklin's tips, for a look at virtues that one should develop. For my short and sweet habits, I think 3 is way more than enough.