The Story of A Successful Social Animal
James Clear in #atomichabits discussed the power of habit contracts. In doing so, he mentioned Ben Franklin. Ben saw a room for improvement in his life and decided upon 13 ideals he could strive towards. These virtues became a checklist by which he monitored his habits.
Enter Kyle. In an attempt to make my habits more effective, that is reduce the undesired and produce the desired, I picked up the book. Adhering to texts has helped thus far; I want to picture my life better with the help of books. With it, I feel a vague hope- I can fit more of life into the frame.
Wisdom from figures before me stand to teach me as much as I take time to learn.
I'm following the trail of images to Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography and his thirteen virtues.
It's 11 PM. I don't need an espresso.
Temperance
As I ponder on that virtue this month, I find any academia on the subject of Franklin and his writing enlightening. In fact, Judith P. Saunders' Evolutionary Perspectives contains American authors and their treatises as a lens by which to assert their truths and personal facts.
Eat not to dullness;
Firstly, I consider eating as consumption. I have a penchant for overestimating portions. I eat with my eyes. A feast might be a three-course meal with dessert, with the king not sated until he tastes several cakes and wines of his choosing. I am not dissimilar... Thus, as a manner of commitment device, I can prepare meals from idea to table to cut down on consumption and discretionary spending.
Following the first, eating as spending my hard-earned resources for easily-made convenience contradicts my leitmotif. Since I heard Robin teach Beast Boy in that episode of Teen Titans, I want to 'work smarter, not harder'.
What are some sayings you know?
The leitmotif is a recurrent theme throughout a literary composition, associated with an idea, person or situation.
Within literature, Kurt Vonnegut's 'So it goes,' comes to mind. Linkin Park and their songs feature lines frequently along the lines of 'One thing, I don't why, it doesn't even matter how hard you try'.
Overeating and overspending form the first half of Franklin's habit contract. In addition, the subject of elevation wrestles hard with the idea of drink.
drink not to elevation.
In part due to my upbringing, with ties to religion and culture, the consumption of alcohol isn't an activity I partake in regularly. Yet, social norms and ambiguity of my ideals lead me to knock back more than a few cold ones with the boys. I seldom embarrass myself overtly- I do know of one young man who jeopardized the reputations of two others with his career-limiting move. Getting hammered on the job wasn't acceptable unless you were a nail. The more subtle subject is the topic of elevation. As a challenge to discuss my possessions, I reviewed things I frequent. Among them, the vaporizer represents an optional nondurable. While some recreational activities divert stress and even increase appetites, reduce nausea, the spending matter arises once again.
Is money everything? No. Money, as Judith P. Saunders observes within Franklin's text, serves the purpose of collective improvement and self-interest simultaneously. Of course, you might be right to point out that Franklin himself didn't adhere to the very ideals he discussed. And you Kyle, play an awful lot of Overwatch for someone who likes to read and write. Critics would be correct in that claim. Yet, it's okay to be virtuous. As J. Cole chimed on his track January 28th,
One thing's for sure
If you ain't aim too high
Then you aim too low
Saunders adds this thought to the conversation.
Discrepancies between auctorial assertion and ascertainable fact (whether caused by omission or embellishment) need not hamper consideration of the evolutionary issues raised, directly or indirectly, in the version of his life Franklin deliberately shaped for “Posterity” (1).
Saunders contends that fact or fiction in Franklin's lines, as it relates to his life, doesn't invalidate the fidelity in his literary and social accomplishment. How nice it would be to hear conversations about aspirations and methods over remarks about our mothers.
SAUNDERS, JUDITH P. “The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin: The Story of a Successful Social Animal.” American Classics: Evolutionary Perspectives, Academic Studies Press, 2018, pp. 1–22. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv4v3226.6. Accessed 11 Jan. 2023.
I'll be the first to admit, I don't have it all figured out. Reading something's a better guide than nothin'.
Who are you? Why try so hard?
I am many things. A photographer, writer, brother, friend, dreamer, doer and charlatan all at once, the more difficult task would be deciding who to be next. Ultimately, I don't want to ever stop being curious, on a quest for knowledge and inspiration, within these images crafted by others and of my own making.
We are hackers. Thank 
...I consider a hacker to be someone who has a great passion for a subject and yearning to attain knowledge on that subject. So, I mean, I'm not exactly a 1337 h4x0r, but do consider myself a hacker.
What's cookin'? Well, we'll see, now won't we?
I have a personal interest in a great deal of things. I just have to take one step at time, sticking to the recipe. Who knows what I cook up next: a trip to a conference in NYC? Grilled cheese & chutney? Or maybe I crack the code and program bots to make trades on signals. Elevation is hard to ignore with spirits this high.
Post Summary
- I got the inspiration to write a habit contract from James Clear and his book.
- He mentioned the example of Benjamin Franklin who wrote about 13 virtues. I think I could manage a virtue a month, in line with habit tricks I learned from Clear.
- Temperance discusses moderation in eating and drinking, among other things.
- I could improve those habits with self-sufficiency, in short, cooking for myself.
- The month of January marks a time to think about what I feed myself and how much I pay the price to do so.