{"id":1099,"date":"2026-04-08T07:53:29","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T07:53:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/faysfitness.com\/?p=1099"},"modified":"2026-04-08T07:53:29","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T07:53:29","slug":"ben-franklins-healthy-habits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/faysfitness.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/08\/ben-franklins-healthy-habits\/","title":{"rendered":"Ben Franklin&#8217;s Healthy Habits"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"604\" height=\"284\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/faysfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-1.png?resize=604%2C284&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1101\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/faysfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-1.png?w=850&amp;ssl=1 850w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/faysfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-1.png?resize=300%2C141&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/faysfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-1.png?resize=768%2C361&amp;ssl=1 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 604px) 100vw, 604px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Like Sardines?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Apparently, they&#8217;re the latest, greatest thing since sliced bread.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(BTW, sliced bread: not so good for you anymore.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Go to Youtube and search &#8220;Sardine Diet&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I don&#8217;t question that sardines are good for you. They are. What I question is how a single thing that is good for you turns into the only thing you need for good health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Power of Fads<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the Fitness Industry, fads come and go frequently, particularly fads in equipment, supplements, self-help books and diets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It&#8217;s the American Way to make money marketing some new snake oil that fixes all that ails you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So what about Habit Behavior Modification? A Fad?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Do a Google Search on &#8220;Top Books on Habits&#8221;. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There are a lot. Sure looks like a fad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Habit Behavior Modification &#8211; Not a Fad<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A fad is\u00a0an intense, short-lived enthusiasm or fashion, often followed by a large group, that becomes popular rapidly and disappears quickly.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Habit Behavior Modification self-help books have been around a while. Steven Covey&#8217;s best-selling book, <em>The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People<\/em> was originally released in 1989. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So what&#8217;s driving the more recent interest in Habit Behavior Modification?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There have been many studies in the last 25 years regarding the power of behavioral change through habit modification.  <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/journals\/psychology\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyg.2020.00560\/full\">How to Form Good Habits? A Longitudinal Field Study on the Role of Self-Control in Habit Formation<\/a><\/strong> is a solid summary of some of the latest data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But it goes further back than that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Benjamin Franklin&#8217;s 13 Virtues<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Benjamin Franklin was freaky about forming good habits and ditching bad ones. Here are some more of his quotes:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;It is easier to prevent bad habits than to break them.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Who is strong? He that can conquer his bad habits.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">&#8220;Your net worth to the world is usually determined by what remains after your bad habits are subtracted from your good ones.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Franklin focused his behavior modification around 13 Virtues:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><a href=\"https:\/\/practicalmechanic.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/benjamin_franklin_13_virtues-practicalmechanic.pdf\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"468\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/faysfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-2.png?resize=468%2C600&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1102\" style=\"width:391px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/faysfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-2.png?w=468&amp;ssl=1 468w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/faysfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-2.png?resize=234%2C300&amp;ssl=1 234w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 468px) 100vw, 468px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Franklin even had his own Habit Tracker:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"492\" height=\"526\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/faysfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-3.png?resize=492%2C526&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1103\" style=\"aspect-ratio:0.9354010933839116;width:393px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/faysfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-3.png?w=492&amp;ssl=1 492w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/faysfitness.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/image-3.png?resize=281%2C300&amp;ssl=1 281w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 492px) 100vw, 492px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Takeaways?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Behavior modification through changing habits has been around since the dawn of the United States.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It&#8217;s popular with many because it works.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It won&#8217;t be popular for some because it does not offer a quick fix. Instead, it offers a permanent one.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Ron<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Like Sardines? Apparently, they&#8217;re the latest, greatest thing since sliced bread. (BTW, sliced bread: not so good for you anymore.) Go to Youtube and search &#8220;Sardine Diet&#8221;. I don&#8217;t question that sardines are good for you. They are. What I question is how a single thing that is good for you turns into the only &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/faysfitness.com\/index.php\/2026\/04\/08\/ben-franklins-healthy-habits\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Ben Franklin&#8217;s Healthy Habits<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-message-from-ron"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/faysfitness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/faysfitness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/faysfitness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faysfitness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faysfitness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1099"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/faysfitness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1099\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1104,"href":"https:\/\/faysfitness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1099\/revisions\/1104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/faysfitness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faysfitness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faysfitness.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}