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.

Your kid wants to go swimming, but you have to make this phone call. Your kids want to wrestle,

but you have to cook dinner.

Your kids want you to come tuck them in, but it's a tie game with 42 seconds left in regulation.

We pick these things because they're urgent, because they'll only take a second, but mostly

we pick them because we can get away with it. If something seemingly more urgent or out of control were to intervene, you would push the phone call.

If you were stuck in traffic, you would order delivery.

The boss called and needed something.

You would find out who won the game later.

Yet here you are telling your kid and their earnest request to spend more time with you that they are not as important.

Here you are, choosing it, whatever it is, over your kid.

Most of whatever we're doing can wait.

Not indefinitely, of course, but no one is telling you to put it off forever.

But this moment right now, you won't get back.

Take it.

Play.

Sit with them. Talk with them. Pause the TV. Save the draft and

come back to it. Let dinner get cold. Tell so-and-so you'll have to call them back. Your kids are more

important. And that is actually my Tempice Buget medallion. I try to hold it when I'm fidgeting or recording a podcast.

The idea is that time flies, and the front of the coin has that. It's got, you know, an hourglass with

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