Welcome to the Daily Dad podcast where we provide one lesson every single day to help you with your most important job, being a parent.

I'm Ryan Holiday, and I draw these lessons from ancient philosophy, modern psychology, practical wisdom,

and insights from parents just like you all over the world.

Thank you for listening, and we hope this helps.

Beware this energy.

You think it'd be pretty non-controversial. Over on the Daily Dad

Instagram, you should follow us. We'll post something about having fewer opinions and judgments

when it comes to your kids. We'll talk about loving them unconditionally, even when they don't

understand, even when you disagree. We'll put up a video about letting your kids be who they are, not trying to make them into something you think they should be. And lo and behold, some parent, to be honest, it's almost always a man, will find a way to have a negative opinion about that. They'll let us know that their kids don't know who they are, aren't smart or mature enough to make decisions like that. It's also never said nicely. There's never any nuance in their

comments. They just have to let you know that they know better. If these folks can't hold themselves

back from arguing on the internet, imagine what it must be to be their legal dependent. Imagine what it

must be to be legally in their custody. The power they have as a parent has so corrupted

them that they think that they can lecture everyone else. And they certainly can't let anyone else

be more right than them. We've talked before about the examples of kids who fled their parents'

houses as soon as they could. Lincoln was one such example. John J. O'Connor was another.

The comedian, Gary Shandling, was another. Their parents lacked a soft touch. They lacked self-control.

They couldn't help themselves. They were the opposite of Jim Volvano's father, in that instead of rooting

for their kids, they were instead interfering, judging, demeaning, one-upping, lording themselves over.

And that's not who your kids want you to be.

And that's not who you should want to be.

So don't.

So stop it.

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