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.

Why does anyone care? It's mind-blowing when you read the stories about it, the father who

doesn't fully accept their child because they're illegitimate.

Da Vinci's father did this.

The family that rejected their child because they were gay.

I told the story about the Hollinsene family here.

The parent that expects the impossible from their children.

Gandhi was guilty of this.

The parents who disowned their daughter for

getting pregnant, the parent who feels like it's their place to judge their children's career or

professional choices at the cost of the child's self-esteem and the relationship, as Alfred

Molina's father did. What is wrong with these people? It's a complicated answer, but instead of judging and

condemning the wrongness of these parents, it's obvious enough. Why don't we instead think about

where we are guilty of thrusting our own children away? Because we all do it, whether we realize it or not.

The way we choose a tidy house over a peaceful one, the way we choose criticism over encouragement,

the naturalness with which we try to make them like us instead of helping them become who

they are, the way we let politics or taste get between us and the people we love.

Whether these breaks are permanent and unforgivable, some of the above examples are or are more

minor and temporary as our own often are. It's still the same thing. It creates distance. It sends

the wrong message. It pushes away the people we want to be closest to and to what end?

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