Fox Health: Health, happiness and helping others are vital parts of free and responsible society, Founding Fathers taught

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Health, happiness and helping others are vital parts of free and responsible society, Founding Fathers taught

Bestselling author A.J. Jacobs told Fox News Digital about the importance of "doing good" for others, as shared by America's Founding Fathers — and why it's a path to happiness and healthy living....                        ...                        ...                            ...It's well known that Ben Franklin was a morning person. In his "Poor Richard's Almanac," he famously said, "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login." ......But what did Ben Franklin do when he got up early? What was his morning ritual? ......That is less well known. In his autobiography, Ben Franklin wrote that the first thing he did when he woke up each day was to ask himself the following question: "What good shall I do this day?" (See the video at the top of this article.) ......You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login ......I love Ben Franklin's ritual. ......For most of my adult life, my default morning thoughts included questions such as, "What annoying tasks do I have to do this day?" and "What terrible things have happened in the world that I'll read about when I open my laptop?" ......Nowadays, I try instead to do what Ben Franklin advises: I ask myself, "What good can I do today?" ......Written on a piece of paper, it now hangs over my desk as a reminder. ......This new habit is the result of the year I spent recently trying to live like the Founding Fathers. I wrote about the wisdom I learned You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login, "The Year of Living Constitutionally."......As Franklin's morning ritual implies, the Founders were obsessed with the idea of virtue. ......Nowadays, the word "virtue" has a bit of a cringey and fusty ring to it.......You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login......I hear the word most often used in the phrase "virtue signaling," which is not a compliment. ......"Virtue signaling" refers to someone who is ostentatiously trying to show off how righteous they are by, for instance, loudly asking a waiter about the living conditions of the bees that produced the honey for their oatmeal.......In the Founders' era, the word virtue had no such mixed connotations. ......Virtue was a cherished ideal. In his book "First Principles," Thomas E. Ricks writes that the Founders used the word virtue about 6,000 times in the collected writings from the Revolutionary era. ......That's more often than the word "freedom." ......The Founders' idea of virtue meant public-mindedness. A virtuous person puts the interests of others before their own interests. A virtuous person focuses on those two key words in You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login: "General Welfare."......You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login......I think we're due for a resurgence of virtue. I know I could use more of it. ......As a rule, I'm too focused on my individual rights. Rights are wonderful, and I'm grateful that I live in a country that puts an emphasis on individual rights. But rights come with responsibilities. ......I almost wish the Constitution had a Bill of Responsibilities. ......The idea of public responsibility, I believe, was more ingrained in the 18th century and didn't need to be spelled out. You were expected to sacrifice for your community.......If there was a fire, you were expected to be part of the bucket brigade, helping to save your neighbor's house. If you were a man, you were expected to be a part of your local militia. ......When my wife and kids and I wrote a Constitution You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login — an exercise I fully recommend — we included a Bill of Rights, but also a Bill of Responsibilities. ......You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login ......It's not about being saintly. ......Service actually wasn't opposed to happiness. It was integral to it. ......As Jeffrey Rosen, president of the National Constitution Center, has said, "Happiness wasn't about feeling good. It was about doing good." ......I find this observation to be true in my own life. You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login I find the best thing to do is to help others. It gets me out of my head.......That piece of paper over my desk serves as a moral North Star and helps tamp down my Larry David side. ......When I start to get angry about something silly — such as my Instagram post didn't get enough likes — I can look at the phrase and get a reality check. ......You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login......It reminds me of the big picture.......You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login by A.J. Jacobs (2024) is published by Crown....

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