Which virtue is most difficult for franklin to master

Franklin assumed that man is reasonable, that through his reason he can control himself, and that he can resolve, at a given moment, to unlearn "bad habits" of thought and action and substitute good ones. He also assumed that what one should do in any given situation, the kind of action "good habits" would dictate, would be easy to identify.

Franklin's view of man lacks the complexity one acknowledges in a post-Freudian world. But if he appears at points in-tolerably optimistic about human nature, he also acknowledges his failure to attain perfection with a modern, ironic sense of humor that still makes him likable. Having seen that perfection would never be his, he decided that such a condition "might be a Kind of Foppery in Morals, which if it were known would make me ridiculous; that a perfect Character might be attended with the Inconvenience of being envied and hated; and that a benevolent Man should allow a few Faults in himself, to keep his Friends in Countenance.

Franklin always assumed that virtue was worth pursuing because of its practical benefits, not because of some abstract worth. Order, resolution, and industry, for example, he felt would lead to affluence and independence. And once these last two qualities were achieved, sincerity and justice would be easier to afford.

His approach to specific virtues was therefore a practical one. In learning silence, he allowed himself to speak what would benefit him, and in learning frugality, to incur expense that would do him good. Print off or make the entire set at once, cycle through all of them, and then make a new set and start from scratch. You can also implement this practice electronically. Just use a note program on your smartphone that contains a list of the virtues that you can use to review each morning and each night.

A simple program like Evernote can handle the job quite well. At the end of the week, review your overall progress. Which virtues are you particularly weak on right now? What can you do to strengthen those virtues going forward? Use the data you recorded — both the marked virtues and skills you succeeded with and the ones you missed — as a source of insight on how to continue to improve. The key thing to always remember with a process like this is that it takes time.

People always want immediate results that appear like magic. Improving yourself takes time, and then it takes even more time for the effects of that improvement to propagate out into your life.

The key thing with this is to remember that you are getting better, little by little. This really is a simple yet brilliant system for genuine self-improvement. It can help you change your character as a whole or help you bring about true lasting improvement in specific areas of your life. Good luck! Trent Hamm founded The Simple Dollar in and still writes a daily column on personal finance. Home » Financial Wellness.

Advertiser Disclosure Advertiser Disclosure We are an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. Financial Wellness Save More Money. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty. Avoid extreams; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.

He finds that Order is the most difficult for him to acquire, partly because Franklin's good memory makes Order not as necessary. However, Franklin ends up being pleased with his inability to perfect all his virtues, deciding, "a speckled axe is best A benevolent man should allow a few faults in himself, to keep his friends in countenance.

He writes about his hope that all his descendants who read his Autobiography will derive the same enjoyment and benefits from acquiring these virtues. Franklin adds that the list of virtues are likely to appeal to people of all religions. They are not geared specifically at any one particular faith because Franklin stresses their utilitarian benefits rather than their moral benefits. He mentions that Humility was added last when his friends started to complain that he was too arrogant. To make himself seem more humble, he used such phrases as "I conceive" or "I apprehend" rather than "certainly, undoubtedly," etc.

Franklin writes that he afterwards started enjoying conversations more. However, he found his pride impossible to vanquish. In fact, he sardonically mentions that he became so humble so as to be proud of his own humility. Note: In , Franklin once again stops writing his autobiography.

He resumes back in America, four years later, in August While Franklin's inclusion of two highly congratulatory letters at the beginning of this section may seem arrogant, it provides a framework that explains why Franklin is writing on virtues. Both writers imply that an autobiography such as Franklin's can be of great use to others because Franklin has lived a life of great virtue.

For the betterment of society, Franklin ought to make his life public.