Resolutions again. We make them; we break them. Does any good come of this? Annual attempts reveal, perhaps, that we all sense we are in need of improvement, while February reports of failed resolutions suggest that quick fixes rarely cause permanent improvement.
If you’d like to think about resolutions in a new way, look at Benjamin Franklin’s steady approach to self-development. While still in his twenties, Franklin chose 13 virtues that he thought were essential for a good life. He wrote each on a page of his notebook and concentrated on each for a week at a time. Every thirteen weeks he began again, rotating through his list four times each year for most of his life, concentrating on improving one area at a time.
Do not assume Franklin was wholly successful. A quick look at his life shows areas where he did not reach the lofty ideals he aimed for. Nonetheless, I believe he was a better man for trying.
I invite teachers to take Ben Franklin’s long-term approach, forgiving our own shortcomings yet still pushing on toward our ideals.
During a recent conference, a teacher-in-training identified eleven things he wanted to improve about his teaching next semester. The list was worthy, but humans are not designed to do eleven things all at once. I reminded him of this fact, pointing out that overwhelming himself with eleven all at once would be a quick route to discouragement or despair. To manage his long list, we agreed that he would concentrate on only one each week. That would allow him time for experimenting and becoming somewhat comfortable with each one in turn, so they could all, eventually, become part of his repertoire.
How about you? What are the two– or twelve or six or ten– things that you want to do better? The choice is yours. But once you do choose, truly adopt your goals for the long term. Re-examine one of your goals each week and take some concrete step in that area. Like Franklin, you will need to actually write your list down and go back to look at it repeatedly, so you can form the self-improvement habit.
You might decide to choose some of your strengths and magnify them further. Or select some weaknesses and find compensatory behaviors. Perhaps you would rather identify a major annoyance or problem and form new habits or procedures to get you past the issue. All are good approaches. Which will you choose? And what will you be doing about those goals months and years from today?
