Franklin’s Autobiography. The focus of the exercise is to improve 13 virtues a person has. Here is how it works.
First you would rate these 11 virtues. 1 being the one you want to improve the most, 11 being the one you have the most already.
- Self‐Control
- Discipline
- Enthusiasm
- Courage
- Persistence
- Specialized Knowledge
- Imagination
- Decisiveness
- Well‐Organized
- Taking Initiative
- Pleasing Personality.
The exercise is laid out on a table or a spread sheet of 8 columns x 14 rows. In the first box in row one should read “Week Number” then the following boxes should name the days of the week.
The second row first box should have #1 for the week number, and which virtue you want the greatest improvement on. For me its “Specialized Knowledge”.
There are 13 slots you must fill out. The 2nd one and the 13th one is already filled out for you. Week #2 – Kindness and #13- See God in Others. The rest is up to you fill out the other 10 in the order you rated them.
Starting at the beginning of the week, add one small dot (or tick) in the square for the corresponding day every time that you noticed that somebody (or you) have displayed that virtue. For instance, like today, I made somebody lunch and they complemented how good it was. So that would be two ticks in the Kindness/Friday box. Look for as many as possible, not just the large and obvious but the small things matter to.
In a sense our subconscious mind is like a child playing the game “Monkey See, Monkey Do”. When our conscious mind points out to our subconscious mind consistent displays of the virtues, eventually, the subconscious mind will automatically start to mimic them.
The Franklin Makeover is another exercise that is easier said than done for me. When I first read through the 13 virtues , I thought I could at least spot 5 to 10 of each of them easily. I quickly learned that I could only spot the bare minimum each day. It’s like a Easter Egg Hunt for me. The objective is simple, but when it comes to it, finding the eggs (or in this case the 13 virtues), it was quite difficult to accomplish. Some of these virtues were easy to find right away, and some others are not so easy. Of course it depends on the day as well. Although this is a due-able exercise, but it isn’t as easy as I was expecting. Am I the only one experiencing temporary blindness with this?
Interesting insights. I found that it takes more effort (being aware) than I expected.
Dillon, thanks for Your honest post!
I can totally relate to what You write about it being difficult at some times to find the virtues I´m focusing on. For me it´s still a immense difference from the first weeks locating the shapes and colors. I can really feel how my mind has been trained and developed!
Mahalo, I appreciate You!
This exercise has been beneficial to us all.
I enjoyed your statement:
I totally understand where you are coming from…Ihad trouble finding the shapes in the beginning! Practice is what helped me and persistent focus! Peace on your journey…you are not alone!
It was one thing to spot kindnesses; it’s another thing to find self-control or courage or some of the others, especially in other people. Definitely not a piece of cake! Thanks for sharing!