I've been reading the autobiography for Benjamin Franklin the past few months and it's been enlightening to learn about the details of his life. What stands out is that he is aware of his own flaws. He lists out 12 virtues that people should live by:
- Humility
- Silence
- Order
- Resolution
- Frugality
- Industry
- Sincerity
- Justice
- Moderation
- Cleanliness
- Tranquility
- Chastity
Upon sharing this with a friend, he suggested that he add "humility" to the list to make the total 13. What surprised me to hear is that BF knew he was more opinionated and decided he would stop using words like "certainly" and "undoubtedly" and replace them with "I conceive" or "I apprehend" to be more humble. In doing so, this strikes a personal chord for me. Since starting my job, I found that I had to strike "I think" or "I believe" from my normal speech in order to sound more authoritative and sure about the statements I make. In truth, I use these devices to do exactly what BF was referring to - provide respect for other peoples' thoughts (to show that these are my own opinion) - and be humble to something I may not completely understand. I don't know why we live in a time where this is understood. Regardless, I believe that we walk a fine line depending on who we communicate with and we need to be cognizant about it.