Rung Two thoughts: 2 values enter! I value leaves!

Reader’s note: Reminder that Rung Two is “The achievement of one’s objectives requires a good plan and consistent effort.” This is an update on how my dots in Franklin’s virtue marking system are working for me.

After weeks of reflecting at the end of every day on whether I’ve made any missteps in Franklin’s virtues, one failed to pop up, for me: chastity.

When Franklin wrote his compact thoughts for this—“Rarely use venery but for health or offspring; never to dulness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation”—I think he was focused on relationships and sexual relations with others.

I’m pretty quiet on that front, so no dots.

But while the system is for seeking perfection, and one might want to keep a virtue there because it’s a nice, unmarked line every week of self-assessed success … why? Better to cut the virtue that isn’t causing problems and add another one.

Because I’ve recently started a class on a centuries-old discipline of Jewish self-improvement, and this week was “Generosity,” I swapped Chasity for Generosity: “The generous heart gives freely.”

And, this week, I have had less trouble giving a little money to those in need, my heart has not always been generous in my assessments of people. So … a couple dots. And a couple dots, failure, not hitting the mark, means, not whipping myself for faults, but thinking, hey, this is a chance for improvement over time.

Is there something in yourself, your behavior, your history, your existence, that you think you could improve on in your treatment of yourself or others?

Pick a virtue! Watch it for a bit! Reflect on what goes well and not with it. Seek some encouraging marks that reflecting regularly on something can change your behavior over time. If it doesn’t, if the back-slide is more painful than the small steps ahead, stop and re-evaluate. Maybe it’s time to quit working on that for now. Maybe it’s time to set up a different habit to experiment with and reflect on it. Maybe it’s time to talk to other people who struggle with it. Or read a book. Whatever.

Pick a virtue! Pick a thing and follow it. Not because the data you gather is particularly important (although it’s dork-ily and uselessly fun to do so).

But because it’s important, not that you’re perfect or how good you are, but whether you are improving, in some way, over time.

Go up the ladder. And if reflection leads you to face that you’re at the bottom of the ladder, don’t beat yourself. Just think, hey: That’s way more room for self-improvement than a better person! I have much more satisfying work to do than someone who’s done or almost done!

Enjoy …