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. Easy like Sunday morning. Why is your house so stressful?

Why is everything such a fight?

It doesn't need to be.

Sure, school is important and rules and respect and basic cleanliness matter.

But these things aren't that important.

Indeed, most conflicts that pop up while getting ready for school or sitting down for dinner

or finishing household tasks aren't that important.

So here's a magical phrase worth thinking about as a parent. It's from that great Lionel,

Richie song and The Faith No More cover. Easy like Sunday morning. What if more of your days were

like that? What if you had less you were trying to force through? What if you were slightly more

relaxed? What if you understood that it was your kid's day too, that there was nothing that really had to happen? And it's a motto worth trying to apply on Mondays and Wednesdays and Fridays alike. Of course, there's still stuff that has to get done, but we've taken the pressure down a notch. We're sidestepping the power struggles. We're giving everybody some space. We're running things at the right pace. We understand that today can be a good day. Whether it actually is or not, it's up to us. Because it is up to us, as we do have that choice. It starts with us choosing to set the mood right for the whole house. Your kids deserve a happy and safe place to wake up every morning. They don't need or want to be

yelled at or nagged. You don't want to do those things either. It's not good. It's not pleasant for you or

them. So relax. Take a beat. Take a breath. And when you feel that tension rising to the surface,

when you sense a possible conflict around the corner, just repeat that magical phrase as a reminder

of the mood you want to set.

You might even sing it out loud if you want. Easy, like Sunday morning. Another kudos to the

connection to that song, which I love. But she did say, things had to be more chill in our

house in the mornings, more like it is on the weekends,

and that's what we've been trying to do.

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