improvement. Instead of simply singing the praises of a series of virtues, Franklin wrote out a personal to-do list and a step-by-step plan for upgrading one virtue at a time.

Industry—Lose no time; be always employed in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions. • Sincerity—Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly. • Justice—Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty. • Moderation—Avoid extremes; forbear resenting injuries so much as

we are strongly inclined to stay pretty much the same as adulthood progresses.

This ability of some avoidants to assert themselves is not shared by people with another high N pattern, called dependent. Instead of fighting against their deep sense of insecurity, they seek out stronger people as potential protectors. The DSM’s description of this pattern includes: “has difficulty making everyday decisions without an excessive a

Nevertheless, we can always change, sometimes substantially. The most common impetus is a disruptive personal event such as marriage, divorce, parenthood, a new job, or a religious conversion, any of which may lead to new opportunities, expectations, and adaptations.

Temperance—Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation. • Silence—Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation. • Order—Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time. • Resolution—Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve. • Frugality—Make no expe

high Conscientiousness has the potential downsides of oppressive perfectionism and the inability to abandon well-practiced

routines in the face of changing circumstances.

The ten patterns I described come from psychiatry’s diagnostic manual, which was designed to identify them in their full-blown and maladaptive forms, called personality disorders. But these patterns also exist in milder forms that need not be maladaptive.