Benjamin Franklin's 13 Virtues

Happy Sunday, Dear Readers,

12 years ago our mamma read that Benjamin Franklin attributed most of his success to practicing 13 virtues to the best of his ability. 

Apparently, for a large portion of his life, he carried around in his pocket a card of a table with each of the seven columns representing a day of the week, and each of the 13 rows representing one virtue he wanted to work on.

Mamma completed a challenge to work on each of these virtues based on what Benjamin Franklin reportedly did. Since spring is a great time for renewal, mamma is going to do this practice once again. 

Here are Benjamin Franklin's 13 Virtues:

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 uncleanness in body, clothes, or habitation.
11.	Tranquility: Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.
12.	Chastity: Rarely use venery but for health or offspring; never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation.
13.	Humility: Imitate Jesus and Socrates.

Source: PBS

Throughout the day, review the card to keep the virtues fresh in mind. At the end of each day, go through the virtues, and reflect if they were actually practiced during the day, and mark the box if so. The goal is to fill in as many boxes as possible, and each week, start with a blank card.

The point is for the virtues to became more and more ingrained in our character. Naturally practicing them more, according to Benjamin Franklin, helped him become a well-rounded successful person and a better participant in society. 

What a superb practice for self-improvement. If you don't want to try this challenge using his 13 virtues, of course, try it with the virtues you hold dear. It is designed to help lasting improvement in specific areas of your life.

May your week be inspiring and transforming! 

Purr & Paw,

-Stivali. 🐾

By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail. - Benjamin Franklin.

Seven Principles by Dr. Maulana Karenga

Happy Sunday, Readers! Today we focus on the principle of self-determination, in honor of Kwanzaa which began yesterday and is celebrated until Friday, January 1.

This cultural celebration was created in 1966 and is based on African heritage and traditional African harvest festivals. Its name is from the Swahili phrase "matunda ya kwanza" which translates to "first fruits". 

Kwanzaa is not a religious holiday, but is a celebration of family, life, and unity. It has a similarity to Hanukkah, with the tradition of lighting candles over several nights. Each day of Kwanzaa highlights a different principle outlined by Dr Maulana Karenga:

Unity in family, community, nation, and race.

Self-determination 

Collective Work and Responsibility to build / maintain community and solve problems together.

Cooperative Economics to build /maintain businesses and to profit from them.

Purpose a collective vocation of building / developing community.

Creativity to always do as much as we can to leave our community more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.

Faith to believe in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

What do you think of today's principle self-determination? This can be defined as the process by which a person controls their own life. Our ability to make choices and manage our own life impacts our psychological health and well-being (as well as how we contribute to our family and community). How do you define yourself? How do you create for yourself? How do you speak for yourself?

Changing your life starts with changing our thoughts. What you tell yourself defines who you are. Each of these principles are helpful to all of us in creating action and mantras for a better life.  Imagine what the best possible version of yourself is. Reaffirm your worth - that you are strong, capable, and your life will be filled with the joy. 

Each day this week, reflect on one of the principles and believe that you deserve wonderful things. Know that you can and will accomplish what you set out to do in life, after all, you are the master of your mind. 

Have a blessed week, and if you are interested to learn more about this beautiful celebration click: Kwanzaa - HISTORY

Purr & Paw,

-Stivali. 🐾

If you have a purpose in which you can believe, there’s no end to the amount of things you can accomplish. - Marian Anderson.