I still struggle on Father’s Day.
I wish I could say my dad is complicated. But he’s not. He grew up the victim of emotional abuse and it basically hollowed him out as a human being.
He looks like a person. He talks like a person. But there’s no real person in there. He and I don’t have any relationship to speak of.
He is also who taught me how to be a father. And for the first six years of my own kids’ lives, I well and truly HATED that role. I gladly would have given mine back if such a procedure were possible.
Thankfully, with therapy and medication, I realized, “ohhhh, I’m the asshole here!” I’ve spent the last 12 years trying to be a better father than my dad was ever capable of.
To all the men out there going through life, figuring it out on your own, I’m right there with you.
And even at the age of 51, I’m still figuring it out. And I’m still occasionally sad about the experiences I never had.
We can still be great leaders, and founders, and fathers (the greatest startup journey you’ll ever go on). We just have to work a little harder at it.
Happy Father’s Day to you, especially.
Don’t hide from it.
You still deserve to be happy today, so make it your own.