Every time he made a fault, he made a mark in the appropriate column. Each week he focused his attention on a different virtue. Over time, through repetition, he hoped to one day experience the pleasure of “viewing a clean Book.” He says that he carried out this personal examination for years. In order to do the work thoroughly he decided to attempt each virtue and a quarter of its importance – one at a time. He began with temperance, which included the moderating of every pleasure or inclination to develop undesirable habits.

The other virtues practice in succession by Franklin were silence, order, resolution, frugality, industry, sincerity, Justice, moderation, cleanliness, tranquility, chastity and humility. For the summary order he followed a little scheme of employing his time each day. From five to seven each morning he spent in bodily personal attention, saying a short prayer, thinking over the day’s business and resolutions, studying and eating breakfast. From eight till twelve he worked at his trade.

You will begin to realise why this exercise is called the Dickens Pattern (with reference to the ghost showing Scrooge some different futures) as you notice that the idea of this exercise is to hypnotize yourself to be aware of two very real possibilities for your future. , just have a think about something that you know you need to be doing, but are not. Then with that thing in mind, follow these simple steps. Step One: Get yourself nice and relaxed and settled.

Imagine that a few more steps ahead there is a place where the path splits, where is goes off to the left and off to the right. Pause here for a few moments and have a think. Here, there are two different pathways, two possibilities, two ways that you could choose to go. If you were to choose the path to the left, life is pretty much the same as it is. You carry on doing the same things, living the same way and dealing with this thing in the same way as you have been doing.