We spend so much of our lives in pursuit—pursuit of better jobs, higher salaries, loftier titles. We dedicate countless hours at the gym, chasing better bodies, personal records, and improved health. We spend mountains of time online, tweaking fantasy football lineups, hunting for deals, and keeping tabs on friends and family (or so we tell ourselves).
It’s all good stuff for the most part, but it calls to mind a certain question about our priorities, doesn’t it? “A better wrestler?,” Marcus wrote in Meditations. “But not a better citizen, a better person, a better resource in tight places, a better forgiver of faults?” We spend a lot of time on superficial stuff—we even call it “work”—but rarely do we expend the same amount of effort on the stuff that really matters. In fact, even Marcus’s quote demonstrates this.
Notice he doesn’t mention being a better parent? And this was a guy who had a dozen kids! Who, if we look at the reign and misdeeds of his son Commodus who inherited his throne, could have stood to be a better father for the benefit, not just of his son, but for all the people of Rome who suffered under Commodus. And what of his role as a husband? Ancient gossip and historical records suggest that his marriage could’ve used some work, too.
One could argue that parenting and partnership fall under the umbrella of being a better person—and they do. But should they be relegated to a subcategory? Why not elevate them to priorities in their own right? Why not devote to these roles the same vigor we reserve for professional ambitions or personal goals? Why not invest as much time studying the research on effective parenting as we do staying informed about current events?
Indeed, being a good parent and good partner isn’t simply a consequence of the work you put in to be a better person. They are correlated, certainly, but correlation isn’t causation, as they say. And we should always want our actions and choices to be the direct cause of our improvement in every arena of life, parenting most of all.
This is the foundation of the Daily Dad (thank you for subscribing!). It’s also why we created The Daily Dad book (currently just $2.99 as an ebook, by the way!)—to offer you something each day to ponder, to try, to grow into. Because these small, daily investments add up. Over time, they compound, shaping not just the kind of parent you are but the kind of world your children will inherit.
Parenting isn’t just one part of being a better person; it’s its own critical endeavor—one that echoes far beyond your lifetime. Let’s commit to getting better here. For our kids. For the world they’ll live in. For the legacy we’ll leave behind.

As we mentioned earlier, Daily Dad is just $2.99 as an ebook right now! We’re not sure how long the price drop will last, so get it for yourself or as a gift while you still can.
And if you want a copy of the book designed to stand the test of time, grab the premium leatherbound edition of the Daily Dad, full of features that will allow the book to be passed down to your children and further generations to come.