Daily Ramblings – Series Sunday – Improving Character Traits

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Ben Franklin, Character, Consevative, Discrimination, Liberal, Open Minded, Politics, tolerance, Traits

“Tolerance implies no lack of commitment to one’s own beliefs. Rather it condemns the oppression or persecution of others.” – John F. Kennedy

Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/john_f_kennedy_133845?src=t_tolerance

This month I’m going to work on another character trait—tolerance. In some cases, I am pretty close-minded, particularly when it comes to politics. I want to open my mind to other’s ideas. So, starting this month I’ll be reading, watching, and listening to the other side. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still voting straight Republican across the board, but I want to be informed about the other side’s ideas and views as well.

Subsequently, I have begun listening to NPR, The Rachel Maddow Show, and The Daily podcasts—just to hear the other side of things. I also listen to Tim Ferris, Rush Limbaugh, and Ben Shapiro. I also want to read more broadly. I have been using Google News for my daily update and read articles by the Washington Post, The New York Times, and other Left-leaning news outlets.

Tolerance is much more than just politics. Tolerance is also about letting other people be. I am pretty liberal when it comes to abortion (A woman can do whatever she wants with her own body—none of my business), liberal when it comes to drug use (people can put whatever they want into their bodies—again, I don’t care).

I really want to exercise my critical thinking to truly understand the other ideologies out there. I think oppressing or persecuting others, because of their beliefs, is not something I want to be a part of. Each of us believes what we do because of our upbringing, our life experience, and our social interactions.

We have so much division in this country and I am just OVER IT. I believe we are all interested in a society and world that are free from oppression, persecution, and allow people to pursue their interests freely. Wish me luck!

Another installment for this series will arrive on the first Sunday of December.

See you then!

Dave

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Daily Ramblings – Series Sunday

Tags

Benjamin Franklin, Character Traits, Discrimination, Judgment, self-improvement, Series Sunday

1. Discriminating
2. Tolerant
3. Forgiving
4. Content
5. Detached
6. Humble
7. Patient
8. Compassionate
9. Disciplined
10. Grateful
11. Minimalist
12. Contemplative

These are the 12 personal character traits I will be working on over the next year. Like Benjamin Franklin, I will work on one each month. As I progress, I will continue to work on the previous trait and add the next trait. This will result in working on all 12 at year’s end.

The trait I will be working on this month is Discrimination. I am not looking to improve my prejudice. That part of the discriminating definition is not part of my character development. My goal is to be able to sift through all the information I receive from the Internet, my personal relationships, and any other source, and make better decisions.

I want to improve my ability to choose between right and wrong, true and false, and illusion and reality. It will be a great exercise and I look forward to it. Today, we are deluged with information—much of this “information” is not true or heavily biased one way or another.

I’ll see you again next month when I add another trait out of this list to November.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Series Sunday – Developing Character

Tags

Benjamin Franklin, Building Character, Character Building Series, Character Traits

(Photo credit: Encyclopedia Brittanica. (n.d.) Benjamin Franklin. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/biography/Benjamin-Franklin)  

“no copyright infringement is intended”

“I propos’d to myself, for the sake of clearness, to use rather more names, with fewer ideas annex’d to each, than a few names with more ideas; and I included under thirteen names of virtues all that at that time occurr’d to me as necessary or desirable, and annexed to each a short precept, which fully express’d the extent I gave to its meaning.” – Benjamin Franklin (Retrieved from http://www.thirteenvirtues.com/)

Welcome to my series on developing character. The above quote reminds us how even the Founding Fathers worked on self-improvement during colonial America and beyond. Instead of “reinventing the wheel”, I will be using Benjamin Franklin’s framework for working on my own character over the next year.

This series will cover each character trait I will be pursuing over the next 12 months. This series will run once a month on the first Sunday of each month. In that discussion, I will examine the character trait I am pursuing and will explain what my goals are in relation to that character trait. I will begin my journey in October (my birth month). This posting will examine all the traits I am seeking to add to my character or improve, month by month until October of next year. I was going to wait until January and work through them like a New Year’s resolution but decided my birth month would be more appropriate.

These are the character traits (virtues) that I will be working on over the next year:

• Discriminating
• Tolerant
• Forgiving
• Content
• Detached
• Humble
• Compassionate
• Patient
• Disciplined
• Grateful
• Minimalist
• Contemplative

Just like Ben Franklin, I will start with one virtue. As I progress I will be adding virtues to my tracking list. I will work through these traits in the order I have displayed them above. October will examine discrimination, November will examine discrimination and tolerance. December will examine discrimination, tolerance, and forgiveness. I hope you see the pattern I’m following. This is the same process Benjamin Franklin used when improving his character.

Each month I will define the character trait I am pursuing, along with how I will evaluate my progress (I’m still thinking this through). This will be a terrific journey and I am very excited about it. If any of you are interested in getting more detail about Benjamin Franklin’s life and how he did all these things (planning his day, etc.), I highly recommend reading the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. I am not including a link because there are multiple paid and free versions of this book on all of the major online book venues (Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Google Books, etc.). Just so you know, I used the free version I found on Google Books.

See you next month when I kick this off.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Wisdom Wednesdays

Tags

Compassionate, Contemplative, Content, Curious, Detached, Disciplined, Discriminating, Forgiving, Humble, Minimalist, Patient, Tolerant

“Talent is God-given. Be humble.

Fame is man-given. Be grateful.

Conceit is self-given. Be careful.”

–John Wooden

Read more at https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/john_wooden_386606?src=t_wisdom

Humility and contentment. Awesome traits but hard to cultivate. When I was at the top of my game in technical recruiting I changed. I became boisterous, over-confident, and vain. I didn’t like myself that well. I was an absolute ass. I learned at that point that I was not destined to be wealthy.

With all the hoopla out there about living the good life—a life of comfort, wealth, security, and all the rest, it is hard to escape the images that bombard us daily. We have people telling us what to buy, what to eat, what not to eat, where to live, where to travel and so on. 1 out of every 2 advertisements on the television tells us what drugs to take, along with the laundry lists of side-effects that come along with eliminating your physical problem.

I believed all these images and pursued a life I thought I wanted. What did I find out? I didn’t want any of what I bought, consumed, or achieved. I also didn’t like the feeling that I had when I was making a lot of money. Why? I was worried all the time about losing it.

I also didn’t like the person I became when I was making a lot of money. I was conceited and overconfident. These two attributes caused me more pain than I am comfortable writing here. All the wealth, cars, and toys I accumulated went away, along with my high-level of income.

I don’t have any problem with people who pursue wealth, a comfortable lifestyle, and all the rest. It just wasn’t for me. I enjoy living on my retirement income at the young age of 54. I also enjoy spending time with my folks in their senior years to help them around the house and help my Mom take care of Dad. Had I continued to make the money I was making, I would have never come home to help. I love the freedom that I have.

Over the last 2 years, I have learned a great deal. I have embraced minimalism, journaling, daily exercise, eating right, and practicing a few character traits I have adopted. These traits are:

• Discriminating
• Tolerant
• Forgiving
• Content
• Detached
• Humble
• Compassionate
• Patient
• Disciplined
• Curious
• Minimalist
• Contemplative

I have decided to write another series of articles addressing these traits. This series will be presented on Sundays. My new title for my Sunday postings will be “Series Sundays.” I hope you stop by and read them.

Each of us has traits we like and those we do not like. Changing these traits is tough but well worth it in my opinion. My first article in the series launch will be this upcoming Sunday.

Until next time…

Dave