Metro Voice News Celebrating Faith, Family & Community
As millions prepare their 2025 resolutions, wisdom from two American founding fathers might hold the key to success. According to The Epoch Times, their centuries-old approaches to self-improvement remain surprisingly relevant today.
Jonathan Edwards, renowned for his powerful sermons, crafted a remarkable system of personal growth at just 18 years old. His 70 resolutions, written between 1722 and 1723, weren’t mere New Year’s promises but a comprehensive life guide focused on spiritual growth and personal development.
Edwards’s first crucial insight was the importance of regular review. As documented in Christian History Institute, he commanded himself to “read these resolutions once a week.” His primary resolution established a clear purpose: “Resolved, That I will do whatsoever I think to be most to the glory of God and my own good.”
Modern research supports Edwards’s approach, with Dr. Asim Shah of Baylor College of Medicine noting that 88 percent of resolution-makers fail within two weeks, largely due to lack of regular review and clear purpose.
Benjamin Franklin took a different yet equally effective approach. According to The Desert Sun, his list of 13 virtues focused on practical, achievable goals. CNN reports that Franklin’s virtues included temperance, silence, order, and justice, each designed for systematic personal improvement.
Analysis suggests that both approaches offer valuable lessons for modern resolution-makers: Edwards emphasizes spiritual growth and regular review, while Franklin advocates for practical, measurable goals.
While Edwards’s resolution to never allow pleasure or grief except in service of religion might seem extreme today, his principle of regular self-reflection remains valuable. Franklin’s more practical approach, including his famous addition of humility (“Imitate Jesus and Socrates”), offers a blueprint for achievable self-improvement.
For those setting 2025 resolutions, the key lessons from these historical figures are clear: maintain regular reviews, set clear purposes, and keep goals practical and achievable. Their centuries-old wisdom continues to guide modern approaches to personal development.
–Alan Goforth | Metro Voice and Epoch Times
