Progress Not Perfection

Benjamin Franklin was a brilliant writer, inventor, businessman, and human, who valued introspection and meditation. He worked toward knowing himself on a deep level, and although he leaned on the teachings of Jesus, he also included quotes from Cisero and Addison in his writing. While Franklin had a relationship with God and often prayed for guidance to do the right thing, he did not in turn offer his actions to God, but to the betterment of society. Franklin cultivated his own rules that he included in his writing.

The New England Puritans were also meditative and introspective people. They strove to better themselves as well, however, unlike Franklin, they did this for the sole purpose of gaining favor with God. They did everything for God.

Franklin believed in people. He was not a man who coveted possessions or needed praise for his accomplishments. He believed the world belonged to everyone and he wanted to leave it a better place. Unlike the New England puritans of his time, he did not do any of this to gain favor with God, and unlike the puritans, he did not strive for perfection.

Puritans like John Edwards believed that life was already pre-determined by God, and therefore everything flowed to and from him (Wainwright Jonathan Edwards). They also believed that human beings had no power over other people, and that only God did. The puritans also spent their time checking themselves to be sure their values were perfectly in line with God’s, while Franklin believed in Philanthropy and making a difference in the lives of the people around him.

Franklin was diligent in reflecting on himself, leading him to developing a list of thirteen virtues, like temperance, silence, and order, and he worked on them one at a time. For example, he spent one week focusing only on Temperance, making sure he didn’t overeat or drink too much. If he did not falter he moved on to the next virtue on his list. If he failed he did not move on until he felt satisfied. The next week he added Silence, paying attention to listening more and talking less. He kept track of his progress by marking it down every time he was unsuccessful. Franklin compared this process to weeding a garden, because weeding requires cleaning one section at a time, then moving on to the next. This method helped him to see his progress clearly, which encouraged  him to continue with his process (www.gutenberg.org B E N J A M I N).

When looking closely at Franklin’s life, he was far from perfect, especially when it came to his relationships with women. Perhaps this is the reason he did not strive for perfection. He flirted and courted  more than one woman at a time. But he did not lack humility. His unboastful nature made him more appealing to women, because instead of talking about himself, he focused on them. This was charming, given their knowledge of his great intelligence. He accepted that the human experience was messy and that his actions and values might not line up perfectly. For him, self-improvement was about making progress in the real world, not about being perfect.

  In the end, both Franklin and the Puritans practiced self-reflection and tried to improve themselves, but for varied reasons. While Puritans focused on saving their souls and achieving spiritual perfection,  Franklin focused on living well, growing as a person, and being effective in the world. By working on one virtue at a time and tracking his progress, he turned self-improvement into something concrete, something you could see and feel.

George Washington wrote about Benjamine Franklin, “ If to be venerated for benevolence, if to be admired  for talents, if to be esteemed for patriotism, if to be loved for philanthropy, can gratify the human mind, you sir, must have the pleasing consolation to know that you have not lived in vain” (Ben Franklin: Author of the Declaration of Independence).

“Ben Franklin: Author of the Declaration of Independence.” YouTube, Biography, 29 Apr. 2020, www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rVHhEXCUOY.

Wainwright, William. “Jonathan Edwards.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, 15 July 2020, plato.stanford.edu/entries/edwards/.

“B E N J A M I N.” The Project Gutenberg eBook of “Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.,” www.gutenberg.org/files/20203/20203-h/20203-h.htm#IX. Accessed 5 Sept. 2025.