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Self Improvement

self-improvement
Benjamin Franklin"Well done is better than well said." 
~Benjamin Franklin

If there was any one theme throughout Ben Franklin's life, it was self-improvement.  He was one of seventeen children; a son of a poor candle maker. He had less than two years of formal education and began his adulthood entirely on his own. Yet he became a wealthy man by eighteenth-century standards and one of the most respected intellects of the Western world. He was a model for the rags-to-riches story of the self-made man.

Steps to a Self-Improved Super Attitude

It is not what happens to you that matters. It is how you react to what happens to you, especially when facing something unexpected. You must decide how you are going to react! Following are some things you can do to assure that your attitude is the very best it can be, under all circumstances.

√ Focus on the Future: Focus on the future rather than the past. Instead of worrying about who did what and who is to blame, focus on where you want to be and what you want to do. Get a clear mental image of your successful future, and then take whatever action you can to move in that direction. Set your mind, your thoughts, and your mental images on the future.

√ Think About the Solution: When faced with a difficulty, focus on the solution rather than on the problem. Think about the ideal solution, rather than wasting time rehashing on the problem. Solutions are inherently positive, whereas problems are inherently negative. The instant you begin thinking in terms of solutions, you become a positive and constructive human being.

√ Look for the Good: Assume that something good is hidden within each challenge. Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, a major proponent of positive thinking, once said, "Whenever God wants to give us a gift, he wraps it up in a problem." The bigger the gift, the bigger the problem. If you look through the challenge for the gift, you will always find it.

You can choose to be as positive as you want to be, if you focus on the future, think of solutions and look for the good. Use your mind to exert mental control over the situation, allowing you to be positive most of the time and you will reap the benefits. Decide to be positive! ~Brian Tracy

MINERALS

Although minerals make up only 4-5% of total body weight, they are essential for human metabolism. Minerals act as the catalysts for many biochemical reactions within the human body. They are involved in responses of the nervous system and muscles, the absorption and secretions of the body's fluids, and maintain a delicate water balance within the body. Our bones and teeth have high mineral contents which accounts for their hardness and rigidity.  Like vitamins, minerals must also be supplied by dietary means as we are unable to synthesize them in our body.
stress

“Only to the extent that someone is living out this self transcendence of human existence, is he truly human or does he become his true self. He becomes so, not by concerning himself with his self's actualization, but by forgetting himself and giving himself, overlooking himself and focusing outward.” ~ Dr. Viktor Emil Frankl

“When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
~Dr. Wayne W. Dyer

“Every action and every feeling is preceded by thought, whether conscious or unconscious. Success and happiness, therefore, depend on what you think. Strive to adhere to the three rules for successful thinking: think kindly, think objectively, and think constructively.”
~John R. Fishbein, Ph.D.

“Everyone has unique gifts and talents. What you love is what you’re gifted at. To be completely happy, to live a completely fulfilled life, you have to do what you love.”
~Barbara Sher

“Everything can be taken from a man but the last of human freedoms, the right to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances--the right to choose one's own way.”
~Dr. Viktor E. Frankl

“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.”
~Henry Ford

“The reason that most major goals are not achieved is that we spend our time doing second things first.”
~Robert McKain

“Forward… Never look round to see whether any shall note it…. Be satisfied with success in even the smallest matter, and think that even such a result is no trifle.”
~Marcus Aurelius

“Try to become NOT a [person] of success, but try rather to become a [person] of value.”
~Albert Einstein

“The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.”
~Donald Kendall

“The test and the use of man's education is that he finds pleasure in the exercise of his mind.”
~Jacques Barzun

BENJAMIN FRANKLIN’S SELF-IMPROVEMENT PHILOSOPHY:

The Spirit-Mind-Body Connection

Centuries before it was fashionable, Ben Franklin understood the importance of a holistic approach to the self. His methods of self-improvement made an important connection between the spirit, the mind and the body. Franklin's entire life reflected his belief in self-improvement, and from adolescence until his death at eighty-four, he worked constantly to improve himself.

SPIRIT: Moral Perfection

As a youth, Franklin didn't always behave responsibly. At the age of 20, he decided to change the direction of his life by embarking on a course he called "moral perfection." He created a list of resolutions to follow. He resolved to be more frugal so he could save enough money to repay debts he owed. He decided he would be honest "in every word and action." He promised to be industrious "to whatever business I take in hand." He vowed "to speak ill of no man whatever, not even in a manner of truth" and to "speak all the good I know of every body."

MIND: Self-education

Ben apprenticed at a printing shop, and it was there he decided to improve his writing abilities. He studied writings of authors whose style he liked, then practiced writing essays in their same style. He re-wrote famous essays, trying to improve them. He wrote sentences of an essay on slips of paper, shuffled the slips, and reassembled them in the correct order.

During his apprenticeship, he was exposed to a variety of books and he read everything he could. Not only was he an avid reader, but he loved to discuss what he read!

Franklin's endless curiosity helped him maintain a spirit of lifelong learning. He continued his scientific inquiries, he corresponded with some of the greatest minds of the 18th century, he met with scholars and scientists in every country, and he learned French late in life.

BODY: Physical Activity

When most people think of Ben Franklin, they don't usually think of an athlete. However, Franklin was an early proponent of physical fitness. In an age when few people knew how to swim, Franklin taught himself how to swim, and was an avid swimmer all his life. He even considered becoming a full-time swim instructor, and is in the Swimming Hall of Fame.

In England, Franklin found work in a print shop where most of the apprentices spent much of their time getting drunk. Franklin knew that the mind and body were much more productive when not impaired by alcohol. Franklin decided to drink water instead of beer and encouraged his co-workers to do the same. He wasn't successful at convincing all his colleagues to change their ways, but Franklin's clear-headed work and productive physical strength were recognized and rewarded with promotions. Most printers could only carry a single tray of heavy lead type, while Ben Franklin was known for carrying two trays!