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.

Teach them about this tension. As we've talked about before, Kipling's poem, If, contains so much

parenting wisdom, as well as we've said in its own backstory, a painful parenting story.

But one of the most interesting things you notice about the poem is that it's sort of full of

contradictions. Dream, Kipling tells his son, Jack, but don't be mastered by dreams.

Think, but don't make thoughts your aim.

Look good, but not too good.

Speak the truth.

Be okay with people lying about you.

Be a man of the people and comfortable with kings.

What is Kipling doing?

He's saying to do one thing and then another, to be one way and then also another.

But isn't that life, though?

Some situations call for this and some for that.

Sometimes you have to stand up for yourself.

Sometimes you have to ignore the provocation.

Sometimes you have to take the risk.

Sometimes you have to have a safer backup plan.

Sometimes you need to zoom out.

Sometimes you need to have a safer backup plan. Sometimes you need to zoom out. Sometimes you need to zoom in.

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