Grow in Virtue

Demonstrate faith by strengthening your relationship with God. Examples include:

• Read the Bible.

• Pray.

• Go to church.

• Partake in the sacraments.

• Go to spiritual direction.

Demonstrate hope by fortifying your emotional intelligence. Examples include:

• Practice self-awareness by journaling about your feelings, thoughts, and actions and what triggers them.

• Develop healthy ways to cope with stress.

• Operate with a growth mindset of failing fast to learn more quickly.

Demonstrate charity by enhancing your relationships with others. Examples include:

• Listen empathetically to others with the goal to understand and rather than to respond.

• Use effective conflict resolution strategies.

• Be grateful for the "silver lining" of challenging human interactions rather than responding with disrespect.

• Performing corporal works of mercy (ie. feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, shelter the homeless, visit the sick, visit the prisoners, bury the dead, give alms to the poor)

• Performing spiritual works of mercy (ie. counsel the doubtful, instruct the ignorant, admonish the sinner, comfort the sorrowful, forgive injuries, bear wrongs patiently, pray for the living and the dead)

Demonstrate prudence by seeking knowledge to guide the other virtues. Examples include:

• Reading, watching, or listening to books and other media about how to practice these virtues.

• Listen to others share in meetings about what they're doing to practice these virtues.

• Documenting what you're planning to do to live these virtues.

• Reviewing the results at the end of the day and reflect on what helped or hindered progress.

• Adjust your plan based on your reflection.

Demonstrate justice by acting responsibly with your job & finances. Examples include:

• If you're looking for a job, be diligent in your job search and enlist the help of others.

• Build skills to help with a current job or a future job.

• Perform your current job with excellence.

• Manage your finances with a monthly budget that plans spending, saving, and giving.

• Use an app to track actuals against your plan.

• Adjust your budget as necessary to meet financial obligations as well as saving and giving goals.

Demonstrate fortitude by giving yourself proper rest, nutrition, and exercise. Examples include:

• Optimize sleep by:

  • Planning your bedtime 8 hours before your wake-up time.

  • Preparing for bedtime with no eating within 3 hours, no drinking within 2 hours, and no electronics within 1 hour of bedtime.

  • Lowering thermostat to 60-67° F and eliminating any light from sleeping area.

• Optimize nutrition by:

  • Eating high-protein whole foods with no preservatives and minimal sugars.

  • Drinking water, coffee, or hot tea instead of sweet drinks or alcohol.

  • Not drinking caffeinated drinks in the afternoon/evening.

• Optimize exercise by:

  • Planning for 30+ minutes of daily exercise.

  • Doing strength training 3-4 times per week.

  • Doing cardio or stretching every day.

Demonstrate temperance by surrounding yourself with people, places, and things that encourage growing in virtue. Examples include:

• Interact more with people who encourage virtue.

• Avoid places and things that encourage vice.

• Replace temptations with one of these virtues.