Ben Franklin was a man who had an oversized impact on the beginnings of our country. He is considered to be one of the Founding Fathers. Wikipedia lists his accomplishments as being an author, printer, political theorist, postmaster, scientist (think kite and lightning), inventor, statesman, and diplomat.
For our purposes I want to highlight just five of his traits and draw a connection to a satisfying retirement.
Temperance: Though akin to another word on his list, moderation, this word implies not overeating or overdrinking by showing self restraint. For our purposes, I see this virtue as being part of our overall attempt to maintain our health. As we age our body’s metabolism slows down. We must eat less or burn more calories. We also lose muscle mass and the ability to process oxygen as well. Regular exercise is a requirement, not an option.
Frugality: This is a word that has gotten a bad reputation. Frugality doesn’t mean reusing paper towels, living in a tent, or keeping your possessions in a duffle bag. It does mean the acceptance of the limits of one’s financial resources and living within those constraints. Ultimately, it means understanding the difference between needs and wants and satisfying the true wants after needs are accounted for. It doesn’t have to mean doing without; it does mean eliminating waste and cutting back where possible.
Industry: He said, “Lose no time. be always employed in something useful. Cut off all unnecessary actions.” Ben was referring to hard work and dedication to the task at hand. Today, we may use the words energy or vigor to describe this attribute. It means working for what we want until the job is finished to our satisfaction. It would be the opposite of laziness.
Someday I may write about the remaining virtues (though chastity may be difficult to tackle, especially for a man who wrote a rather famous letter entitled, “Advice to a Friend on Choosing a Mistress” ). He owned several slaves, so his list of virtues was missing at least one key component.
Even with those shortcomings, Ben Franklin’s is as good a list as any to ponder about how to make our lives more satisfying and meaningful.