Ben Franklin’s thirteen moral virtues

The thirteen moral virtues listed by Benjamin Franklin in his Autobiography:

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 employ’d 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.

Also…

The Morning Question, What Good shall I do this Day?

The Evening Question, What Good have I done today?

A Course In Miracles

You can wait, delay, paralyze yourself,
or reduce your creativity almost to nothing. But you cannot abolish it. You can
destroy your medium of communication, but not your potential.
…-A Course In Miracles pg. 30

The Eagles

So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains
And we never even know we have the key.

from Already Gone, peformed by The Eagles

Shape Your Destiny

A person cannot directly choose his circumstances,

But he can choose his thoughts,

And so indirectly, yet surely,

Shape his circumstances.

– James Allen

“Life will knock us down. But, we can choose to get back up.” –Jackie Chan taken from The Karate Kid remake

There are people who teach that life can be all rainbows and sunshine. The problem with teaching this philosophy is that it just isn’t true. Life will knock us down. Sometimes, it will appear as though we are unable to get back up. It is in these moments that teachings show their true value.

If life were easy, we would all be successful, but it isn’t. Life will test us to make sure that we are committed to our outcomes. To create anything of real value, we must be willing to step outside our perceived boundaries. We must be willing to become more than what we believe we are.

By choosing to get up, we are refusing to believe the lie that we aren’t enough. When we do this, we stretch ourselves outside what we believe possible. We become more.

Today, I will be committed to my outcome.

Pacing Outcomes Website

If life were a painting, and you were the artist; what would you paint? -Stephen Covey

Order 7 Habits Of Highly Successful People

Mind doesn’t shift until it does, and when it does shift, it’s right on time, not one second too late or too soon. People are like seeds waiting to sprout. We can’t be pushed ahead of our own understanding. ~ Byron Katie from Loving What Is

Time spent wondering why you do things is wasted energy. That is to say that questioning why you are somewhere other than where you are doesn’t serve you in any beneficial way. Most of the time, when you are honest with yourself, those types of questions are just about beating yourself up. That energy is better spent understanding where we are in the present.

Anytime I start to focus on non-productive questions, I am wasting energy. That is to say, when I focus on something other than adding to my reality, I waste energy focusing on illusion. The other side effect is that my mind gets trapped in a cycle of looking for someone or something to blame for my lot. This traps me in a reality where I am a victim to my surroundings. Acceptance is the key to breaking from these debilitating cycles of self-indulging self-destruction.

Once I break free of negative cycles, I can start to move forward. This starts with the questions that I ask myself. It starts by accepting my surroundings and myself as reality. Once I accept my reality, my path becomes clearer.

Today, I will accept where I am at and who I am.

www.pacingoutcomes.com

Where is fancy bread, in the heart, or in the head? -from the original Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

When you look back on all the decisions that you have made, which ones do you consider the most meaningful? Did they come from some clever choice that you made? Was it from some mental process that led you to successful accomplishment of a goal? Or, where they from some decision that you didn’t understand mentally but you knew in your heart they were the best possible decision?

Our society would lead us to believe that brain power is the end all to be all. The school systems are set up to reward the smartest. We were even rated on scales as to how smart we were. Jobs seem to point to the “brightest” of us and they are moved to the front of the line. But, if we look at the “brightest” how effective has their leadership been? We need to only look at Wall Street to see the effects of clever decisions and how they can affect our world.

When decisions are made from the heart, they seem to be attached to something more stable, more fulfilling. Until our society finds a way to teach this faculty instead of just the mental faculty, we will continue to be led into destructive and dangerous situations. Once we are able to train and exercise our heart faculty, we will grow to the next level as a society. We will no longer destroy ourselves, others or our surroundings.

Today, I will look for ways to build my heart faculty. I will follow decisions from the heart.

www.pacingoutcomes.com

“One of the fundamental differences between the Victim Orientation and this one [Creator] is where you put your focus of attention…For Victims, the focus is always on what they don’t want: the problems that seem constantly to multiply in their lives… Creators, on the other hand, place their focus on what they do want. Doing this, Creators still face and solve problems in the course of creating outcomes they want, but their focus remains fixed on their ultimate vision.” -David Emerald quotes from The Power of TED*

There is a victim in each one of us that is constantly trying to surface. It’s that part of us that wants to blame someone else for our lot in life. The desire to not take total responsibility for our lives can be very seductive for some. The belief that we have somehow been wronged by the outside world can see valid and even the only possible conclusion. The trouble is that living in this mentality causes us to turn over all of our power. We risk becoming addicted to placing blame on the outside world. The danger comes from the human mind’s tendency to find situations that validate our point of view.

There is equally a creator in each of us. It is that part of us that chooses to take charge of our lives no matter what the situation. When we are focused on being the Creator we don’t allow others to take responsibility for anything that is happening in our lives. Our Creator doesn’t look at life from the blame/fault mentality. It is too busy solving and overcoming obstacles. When in this state, we are too focused on creating our world to waste energy looking to blame.

When I am completely honest with myself I know that both the Creator and Victim live in me. It is only by owning both sides and staying conscious to them that I allow myself to choose where I want to spend my energy. Choosing to be a Creator means that I have to let go of the seductive blame/excuse game. Once I do this, I become free to create the world that I want. The deeper truth is that even when I am playing victim, I am still creating my world. I am just spending energy creating problems instead of solutions.

Today, I will be conscious of where I place my energy…I will take control of my life.

www.pacingoutcomes.com

What makes a man a man?…It’s the choices he makes, not how he starts things…but how he decides to end them. -Taken from the movie Hellboy

Life seems to appear more and more about cultivating character. There are too many things that are out of our control to believe that we are in charge of the outside world. Life is continually throwing us curve balls to test how we will react to them. It is in that instant that we cultivate who we are to become.

It isn’t about how we start, but how we finish. That is to say, what direction do you choose to walk. What choice do you make repeatedly in the present? Do you choose the easier, softer way? Or do you choose the path least walked? Character can only be cultivated in the present. It can’t be grown in what you have done. It can’t be cultivated in what you will do. Only when we choose in the present can we cultivate that which will make us who we are.

It doesn’t matter where I start, it only matters what I choose right now. Today, now I will choose to cultivate character.

www.pacingoutcomes.com