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And at the core of it all is an overwhelming desire to achieve your Dad's approval.
My Grandfather taught me how to hunt, how to defend myself, how to skin a rabbit and myriad other manly skills. But it's my Dad who really taught me what it means to be a man.
While I believe that aggression and brute force have there [occasional] place in life, for the duration of my life, my Dad has shown me that more important than physical strength is strength of will and strength of character.
My Dad's strength is enduring, it's steadfast. It's working long hours to look after a young family. It's being patient and slow to anger. It's having the gawkiest and most uncoordinated kid in the local football side-nay, competition- and being consistently encouraging and supportive. It's always being available when the people you care about need you. It's having a sense of humour. It's letting go of the little things to make room for the things that matter.
Here are a few of my favourite Dad teachings:
Somebody, somewhere built it, so I should be able to fix it.
Every little boy's Dad is a superhero, he's always stronger than your dad, and smarter than your dad. Well my Dad can fix just about anything. It's been many years and many failures in the making, but I now pride myself on my ability to fix things. And every single time I do, it starts with the thought "somebody built it".
If you're going to do something, do it well.
I don't recall Dad ever explicitly saying this, but it's something that I've seen him demonstrate my whole life. It's also something that I now habitually apply to my own.
There's always someone better than you.
While it might not seem like a profound new way of thinking, and Dad may have just said it in passing, for an impressionable 15 year-old who hadn't experienced much of the world, this was an empowering new concept. All of a sudden it didn't matter that I wasn't the best, but that I was my best.
I don't think my Dad has ever consciously endeavoured to be a teacher or a role-model, he just is. I've come to an age now where I don't do things to seek Dad's approval - that undermines everything that he has taught me. I've realised that the only way I can do justice to everything I've learned from my Dad is to be the best person that I can be, and when my turn comes, to aspire to be as good at the job as he is.
I love you heaps Dad, Happy Father's Day.