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.

What do you want them not to say? We know what we want our kids to say about us when they grow up. We want them to say

that we were great parents and we did our best. We want them to say that they knew that they were

loved. We want them to say that they love spending time to it, that they love spending time with us,

especially now that they're older and they have a choice. Thinking about what we want our kids

to say about their childhood can be really helpful

because it gives us clarity, gives us perspective.

It tells us what to prioritize and what not to prioritize.

And as it happens, thinking about what we want our kids not to say, it's also beneficial.

Here are some things I don't want my children to say about me when they're older.

Dr. Becky writes in her wonderful book, Good Inside, which you should read if you haven't.

My mom, she says, she did everything for me, or my mom always put me first, or my mom never took

care of herself. She was too busy caring for us. Instead, she says, I hope they never say

any version of my mom ran herself into the ground while she parented me. Take a minute today by yourself

or with your spouse and try to run through these. It might seem weird to focus on the negative,

but it's actually quite helpful because it demonstrates your values and goals

quite clearly by articulating the nightmare scenarios, the potential failures that could happen so

easily if you're not careful. This holiday season, I want to give a gift to my loved ones that I know

will make them feel special because it made me feel special when someone gave it to me.

I'm talking about Storyworth. Storyworth is this great online service that helps you and your

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