In Search of a Virtuous Life

Our best life is created largely by becoming our best self. And I consider improving my character and my discipline to be an important part of my life’s biggest project—becoming the best version of me that I can.

So last month, I decided to take a page from Benjamin Franklin and focus on one virtue each week. This week happens to be patience—something that hasn’t always come easy to me.

Ben Franklin was well known for his strategic approach to self-improvement, and he devised a simple plan to cultivate his character. He identified 13 virtues he deemed essential for a virtuous life. Each week, he focused on mastering one virtue, carefully tracking his progress. After completing the cycle, he began anew, ensuring continual growth and refinement. This disciplined approach allowed Franklin to steadily enhance his character and strive for personal excellence, embodying the spirit of lifelong learning and self-improvement.

He shares in his autobiography that it was often a struggle—and it is for me as well. I share it with you as something to consider for yourself if you want a challenge in character building.

Below, I’ve listed Franklin’s 13 Virtues as well as a long list of other virtues for consideration.

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 employed 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 uncleanliness in body, cloths, 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.

List of Virtues
Acceptance
Accountable
Adaptable, Adaptability
Adventurous
Ambitious
Appreciation, appreciativeness
Assertiveness
Authentic, Authenticity
Beauty
Benevolence
Brave, Bravery
Caring
Cautious
Charity
Chastity
Cheerfulness
Clarity
Clean, Cleanliness
Commitment
Compassion
Confidence
Congruence
Conservation, no waste, preservation
Considerate, Consideration
Contentment
Cooperation
Courage
Creative, Creativity
Decisiveness
Dependable, dependability
Detached, Detachment
Detail-oriented
Determined, Determination
Dignity
Disciplined
Earnest, Earnestness
Emotional Maturity
Empathy
Encouragement
Endurance
Enthusiasm
Ethical
Excellence
Fair, Fairness, Justice
Faith
Fidelity
Flexible, Flexibility
Focus, focused
Forgiving, Forgiveness
Friendliness
Frugal, Frugality
Generosity
Genuine
Gentle, Gentleness
Graciousness
Grace, Gracefulness
Grateful, Gratitude
Grit
Harmony
Helpful, Helpfulness
Honesty, Integrity
Honor
Hope
Humility
Humor, humorous
Hustle
Idealism
Imaginative
Industry, work ethic
Innovation
Insight, insightful
Integrity
Inventive, inventiveness
Joyfulness
Justice
Kind, Kindness
Love, loving
Loyal, Loyalty
Mature, Maturity
Methodical
Mindful, Mindfulness
Moderation
Modesty
Motivated, Motivation
Nurturing
Objective, objectivity
Observant
Open minded, Openness, Transparency
Optimistic
Orderliness
Organized
Original, Originality
Passionate, Passion
Patient, Patience
Peace, peaceful
Perceptive
Perseverance
Persistent, Persistence
Positive Mental Attitude, Positivity
Preparedness
Present
Principled
Proactive
Prudent, Prudence
Purposefulness
Relaxed, not tense
Reliable, Reliability
Resolute, Resolution
Resourceful, resourcefulness
Resilient, Resilience
Respect
Responsible, Responsibility
Reverence
Self-control, ability to delay gratification
Self-discipline
Self-Efficacy?
Service
Silence
Sincerity
Spiritual
Stamina
Steadfast
Strong, Strength
Structured
Studious
Tact, tactfulness
Temperate, Temperance
Tenacious
Thoughtful, Thoughtfulness
Tough, toughness
Time-Integrity
Tolerance
Tranquil, Tranquility
Transparent, Transparency
Trust
Trustworthiness
Truthfulness
Understanding
Unflappable
Vision, Visionary
Volunteerism?
Wisdom, wise
Wit
Wonder
Work Ethic, industry

Recommended Reading . . .

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Without these Compelling Core Values, you’re building on sand instead of bedrock. This book takes you step by step through the core values process. It shows you exactly why this process is so valuable and then how to discover your top five core values, their hierarchy, and what they truly mean to you. 

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