Wake Me Up: Morning Positivity - Inspiration for Self-Improvement from Benjamin Franklin [Guest Featuring Harris from Calm History]

Episode Date: October 12, 2023

This morning, I'm excited to welcome my friend Harris from the Calm History podcast. He'll be sharing some inspiration from Ben Franklin, including Franklin's process for self-improvement. I think you'll love it! Be sure to check out his very relaxing nighttime show, Calm History, featuring stories and anecdotes from history. Just search "Calm History" in your podcast player, or go to https://www.calmhistory.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey friend, I'm so excited about this bonus episode today because I'm welcoming one of my good friends, Harris, the host of the Calm History podcast. He's here to give you a little morning inspiration with his own style and flavor. If you enjoy this episode, then do be sure to go check out his podcast, Calm History. We'll have a quick word from our sponsors, and then I'll hand the mic to Harris. Hello, I'm Harris, the host of the podcast. Calm history. Today, I work to share some inspirational wisdom from history to help you start your day. Let me begin by offering you a goal for today.

Your goal today is to be better than yesterday. But don't try to be perfect. Think about these three questions right now. and you can pause this episode to reflect on them. Question number one. What traits about yourself? Would you like to improve? Number two.

How would you go about improving these traits? And question number three. What will be your measure for success? Your historical wisdom for this goal comes from Benjamin Franklin. the U.S. writer, scientist, and statesman. By his own admission, Franklin ate too much. He drank too much. He talked about himself too much.

He spent more money than he should. And he wrestled with many other vices. I also share some of these vices. And perhaps you do too, wanting to be a better person. Franklin stated this about his plan, conceived the bold and arduous project of arriving at moral perfection. As I knew or thought I knew what was right and wrong, so I didn't see why I might not always do the right thing and avoid doing the wrong thing. Sure enough, he wrote his plan down in 1784. and he titled it,

Plan for Moral Perfection. He selected 13 traits he wanted to improve about himself. These were temperance, silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity, and humility.

Some of these traits are also ones that you want to improve about yourself. Each week, Franklin would take a single virtue and work on it. He did this by using, using a journal to track his daily successes or failures for that specific virtue.

For 13 weeks in a row, he focused his efforts on a separate virtue for one week at a time. At the end of 13 weeks, he started all over again to see if he could do even better, and he kept repeating this 13-week cycle for a while. which gets us to the big question, did Benjamin Franklin fully achieve his plan for moral perfection? No, of course not. Here is what he stated about it. On the whole, I never arrived at the perfection

that I'd been so ambitious of obtaining. Rather, I fell short of it. But let's ask the more important question. Did Franklin become a better person because of this plan? Yes. And here is what he stated about it. I was, because of the endeavor, a better and a happier person than I otherwise would have been if I'd not attempted it.

So let's bring this historical anecdote back to your goal for today. Your goal today is to be better than yesterday, but don't try to be perfect. Today, I want you to channel Benjamin Franklin by writing down some goals, creating a way to track your progress, and then celebrating any improvements you make will be success by this episode. If you would like to hear me share more stories, anecdotes, and perspectives from history, then just search your podcast player for Calm History,

or go to history.com.com.