It's been a busy month for Homeschool Tech Mom. My family went away over the Winter holidays, only to return back home to company arriving. There is nothing like trying to get your house "mother clean", while doing stacks and stacks of laundry from a two week vacation.
Anyway, it looks like my life is finally back on schedule, so now it's time to get back to posting to my blog again on a regular basis.
As 2012 came crashing in, many people took the opportunity to look at their lives and set new goals for the new year. Me included. During the early weeks of January, I was sitting on the beach in California, reviewing life lessons learned in 2011 and thinking about what to do differently in 2012.
It seems like every January, I make the same set of predictable goals, like losing 20 pounds before the swimsuit season, quit biting my nails, or stop feeling so stressed. This year, I began to wonder if it was time to stop writing a huge list of un-related goals (that would probably be abandoned in another week or so), and instead, look at the big picture?
While there are lots of modern books out there on the topic of goal setting, I recently came across an article outlining Benjamin Franklin's 13 principles for achieving success in life. Recognizing that Franklin certainly achieved a great deal of success in so many areas... I thought it was worth reviewing if this "blueprint" from the past has anything to teach us today.
1. TEMPERANCE - Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation.
Obviously Franklin believed that it is wise to be in control of both our mind and body. Therefore, it's a good idea to become more aware of what we eat and drink. Perhaps being mindful of what (and how much) we eat is the best way to lose/maintain our weight?
2. SILENCE - Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.
This is good advice that every mom knows, "If you can't say something nice then don't say anything at all." Sometimes the best thing to say is... nothing at all.
3. ORDER - Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.
My dad, who was an engineer, always believed that "everything had it's place". His garage was a masterpiece of organization, while mine looks like a complete disaster zone. However, I know people who are even worse than me, they have so much "stuff" in their garage that their cars don't fit. I know that my life would be less stressful if I had more order in my life. Just having less clutter in my house, or a clear plan on how to spend my time each day, would be great improvement.
4. RESOLUTION - Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve.
Like the Nike commercial, sometimes we need to: "Just Do It!"
5. FRUGALITY - Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing.
"A penny saved is a penny earned". While nobody likes to waste money, we should also think about what other things we might be wasting. Are there clothes in the closet that no longer fit... maybe it's time to donate them to a local thrift store? Are there homeschooling resources the kids have outgrown... maybe it's time to sell them or give them away? Waste not.. want not, truly is a noble idea.
6. INDUSTRY - Lose no time; be always employ'd in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions.
This is a tough one. It's always hard to admit to which things in your life waste your time. It might be time spent watching television (like Mythbusters marathons), surfing the internet, or gossiping on the phone with friends or family. When you take a good look at where your time goes each day, you may soon find pockets of time that could be spent working on your dreams and goals.
7. SINCERITY - Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly.
Aim to live your life with integrity. In summary, don't do to others what you wouldn't want them to do to you.
8. JUSTICE - Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty.
Pretty similar to the principal above, but perhaps requiring us to be a bit more pro-active. We should strive to meet all of our responsibilities and obligations.
9. MODERATION - Avoid extreams; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.
To me, this means not being so hard on people and not blowing things out of proportion. We need to forgive people (and ourselves) for screwing up. And, when we are upset with someone (especially ourselves), we need to stick to the event at hand, instead of every wrong doing in the history of time.
10.CLEANLINESS - Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation.
Again another no-brainer. It's always a good idea to look and feel our best, even if wearing sweat pants is so comfy. It's also a good idea to have a plan for keeping the house in good shape, so that when your mother comes to visit ... it doesn't take three days to get the house clean!
11. TRANQUILLITY - Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.
This reminds me of the song, "Don't Worry Be Happy", or the book, "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff". Even though our days are jam-packed with "things to do", it's such a good idea to have some quiet time each day. We all need some downtime to reflect and think... even if it's just taking 10 minutes to sit and have a cup of tea.
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.
For this one, I actually had to look up the word "venery". Merriam Webster Dictionary defines the word as: "the art, act, or practice of hunting". Hmm. So I took this principle to mean that we shouldn't "go after" things that are either not in our best interest or lead us down the "low road". When I was a kid, my mother always told me that if I wasn't sure if something I was doing was right or wrong, I needed to ask myself how I would feel if my actions were published on the front page of the newspaper? Adhering to this advice has always worked like a charm.
13. HUMILITY - Imitate Jesus and Socrates.
Many of the great figures of the past have led lives that epitomize the virtue of humility: Moses, Jesus, Socrates, Washington, and Ghandi, to name just a few. When we think of humility, it's easy to think that means mild mannered and weak. However, humility is actually a great strength. It often leads to having so much confidence in yourself and your abilities that you can push through any obstacle to achieve success. So in essence, I think this principle encourages us to be introspective about what we believe in and stand behind our convictions.
I found in interesting to learn that Benjamin Franklin penned this list of principles, when he was only 20. Wow, I wish I had be that intuitive when I was in my second decade of life. The story goes that after writing his list, Franklin then made a plan to focus on one principle at a time. Once he had conquered one virtue, he would move on to another. To track his progress, he would his record his successes and failures in a book each night.
I think that Ben was onto something good with this all of this. First of all, it's great to have a list of general principles to help you make improvements in your life. In addition, it's not enough to just make a list of what you want to change, instead, we need to find a way to record our progress. We need to keep our goals in front of us and we need to constantly evaluate whether we're still on track or derailed.
Lucky for us, we live in a time where there are so many web-based tools to help us. So this week, I am going to focus on some of the hi tech resources the internet has to offer to help us achieve our goals for the new year.
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