Get better every day
Try to get one percent better every day. This seems like a simple thing to do, but it’s not exactly easy. It can be hard to measure parenting skills in an objective way, but I would say this can loosely translate to — “learn from today’s successes and mistakes when making decisions tomorrow.” I have written before about having a growth mindset; this is a similar concept.
A way to ensure every day has the opportunity for growth is to learn from the experiences of others. I like to do this by reading books and listening to podcasts. One of my favorite authors to read and podcast hosts to listen to is Ryan Holiday. Ryan writes a lot about the ancient philosophy of stoicism. He is currently writing a series on the four stoic virtues of courage, temperance, justice, and wisdom. The first two books are published and are great reads that help connect ancient wisdom with the trials and tribulations of the modern-day. Ryan’s books are so well-researched, much like his former boss Robert Greene’s.
Ryan has also written a book called The Daily Dad. This book has 366 entries that are meant to be read one day at a time. For example, today is November 21. This morning, I opened The Daily Dad on November 21 and read that entry. What’s great about daily books like this one is that they are never-ending in the sense that once the year is over, we start back by reading January 1st’s entry. I believe it is important to interact with ideas multiple times and those ideas may resonate differently in 3 years than they do today. As Ryan has cited on his own podcast, The Daily Stoic, multiple times, this quote from Heraclitus rings true, “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it is not the same river and he is not the same man.”
Ryan also released a daily book called The Daily Stoic and convinced Robert Greene to write The Daily Laws and Steven Pressfield to publish The Daily Pressfield. Give one or all of these daily books a chance. They are a really accessible way to engage with timeless wisdom and embrace a growth mindset.
A final note - as far as buying books, I am a hybrid purchaser. When I can, I like to purchase from The Painted Porch, an online bookshop with a physical presence in Bastrop, TX owned by author, Ryan Holiday. I also like to buy from Bookshop.org, an online bookshop that supports independent booksellers. With that said, I still order some books from Amazon, e-books on Kindle or Apple Books, or from the brick-and-mortar Barnes and Noble store in my area.
So long for now.
-Felix