Dad Explains: Tough Love
Sometimes you need a swift kick in the pants.
The temptation to take the easy road is always there. It is as easy as staying in bed in the morning and sleeping in. But discipline is paramount to ultimate success and victory for any leader and any team.
The Dirt Road to Hell
Don’t be daft, of course I love you. And along those lines it pains me greatly to see you suffer in any way. I only want good times and happiness ahead for you, but I know better. Hell, you know better.
Sometimes you forget though. Sometimes you ignore that understanding. Sometimes that truth about life gets tossed aside to justify a stupid impulse and the decision to acquiesce to your more hedonistic tendencies.
So a dilemma appears before me. Do I sit and watch as the tab continues to climb? The tab for your fees, that is. It may be better relayed here as an offshoot of a “stupid tax”. You know, what you pay when you do something stupid.
The stupid tax isn’t always monetary, though it can be. Sometimes it’s peace of mind and sometimes it’s your physical health. Whatever the price is, you can bet the tax man will come a callin’ and soon.
Yet as the bad decisions continue, and continue in spite of my gentle nudges, requests, and pleas, what you owe in stupid tax continues to climb. So what am I to do? Should I continue to gentle chide or cajole in a feeble attempt to correct your behavior?
I could, though we both know you won’t listen. We can’t know that at the onset, but we know it now. There’s a threshold to behavior and pathways taken. Once crossed there’s only one way to exit. You either have to fall off the end or be pushed off somewhere in the middle.
Both modes of egress are painful, but these paths slope ever upward. Maybe it would be better if I used a well aimed rock to knock you down, off that wayward road.
So given that scenario, maybe I’m not trying to be an asshole when I tell you that you’re being really dumb right now. Perhaps I am not unfeeling and unkind when I point out those friends of yours “ain’t shit”. They very well may be.
And you see those footprints in the dirt ahead of you as you wind your way along that ever rising path? You aren’t going in circles, that’s not how circles work, considering you’re constantly rising. Don’t be dumb.
Those are mine. I am not new. I’m too large to have been born yesterday.
Keep in mind, my dear children, there may be a reason I can call out, with annoying yet near perfect accuracy where the next bend or fork in the road ahead is.
I didn’t just take that path before, I have taken it again and again. It seems to you as though I know exactly what to do in most scenarios and that’s likely true, though not as true as you may believe. The only reason I am so confident is I’ve been down this road hundreds of times myself.
I am stubborn and a slow learner, at least where life is concerned. I find it difficult to admit defeat, even when battling myself.
So I have been there, kiddo. And as far as being able to knock you off that path before you go too far? Don’t underestimate my aim.
Even if I miss, I have no intention on giving up. I’m stubborn, remember? I don’t take losing lightly. Prepare for a barrage of missiles before you can come out from cover.
And forgive me if, perhaps, I choose a rock that was a little larger than necessary.
I just love you and I am terrified.
The world is big and there are many dangers. I just want you alive and happy.
Love,
Dad
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