Teach Them To Be Brave

We can imagine that, like all parents, he told his daughter fairy tales. He read her books. He encouraged her when she doubted herself. He told her to stand up for others and for what’s right.

But obviously, it goes without saying, that the most impactful way that Daily Stoic podcast guest Lt. Col Alexander Vindman taught his daughter about courage was the same way his own immigrant father taught him: By example. By defying the president. By not being scared of the attacks from the craven and cowardly. By sitting in front of the camera and answering the hostile questions from self-aggrandizing senators. By continuing onward as a whistleblower, even though it cost him his job, his career and his quiet anonymous life.

We tell our children that courage matters, that bravery is vital. But have we shown them what it truly looks like? Have they seen us embody it? No one expects you to go head-to-head with the most powerful office in the world. But every once in a while, you must take a stand. You must demonstrate what it means to rise to the occasion, to speak up, to fight for something you believe in. You must show them the endurance it takes to weather challenges and the determination required to keep going.

Courage cannot just be something your children read about in stories. It must be something they witness. Something they see alive in you. That is how they’ll learn to carry it forward in their own lives.

Show them that you have courage. Teach them through your example, as all the best lessons are taught.

P.S. For more how to do this, check out Ryan Holiday’s Courage is Calling: Fortune Favors The Brave. It’s all how you can better conquer fear, modeling bravery in your life and serving as an example of courage for your kids. You can grab signed copies here.

And do listen to the full Daily Stoic podcast episode with the courageous Lt. Col Alexander Vindman, where he and Ryan discuss the difference between moral and physical courage, plus how one individual really can change the course of history.

Listen here, or watch the interview over at the Daily Stoic YouTube channel.

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