You just chose a text message over your kids. You wasted time last night and stayed up later than you should have and now you’re exhausted and grouchy with them in the morning. You hassled them over something that doesn’t matter, just like your parents did to you—even though you hated that and swore you wouldn’t do it to your own kids.

Look, parenting is hard. We’re all trying our best…or so we’d like to think.

But are we? This is you trying? The person who just yelled in the car for no reason? The person who totally forgot to sign the permission slip for the field trip? The person who said “in a minute” but never came back to them?

C’mon. You can do better. You have to do better.

We can try harder. We can recommit. We can put the phone down. Go to bed earlier. Apologize when we blow it.

If you want to stop repeating what you swore you’d never repeat, you need more than good intentions. You need a practice. The Daily Dad Five Year Reflection Journal helps you build one. Five minutes a day to reflect, reset, and show up better tomorrow. Watch as your writing informs your actions, gradually closing the gap between the parent you are and the parent you want to be.

As you return each year to the same questions, you’ll understand them differently. They’ll challenge you differently. Most importantly, you’ll parent differently—with more intention, patience, and wisdom.

Begin today. Keep the practice, and let it keep you.

Get your Daily Dad Five Year Reflection Journal today!