It's easy to get distracted and veer off course when things aren't going right.  Having children that are always watching and learning from you, -even when you don't think they're paying attention-, should always bring you back to what's important. About 3 children ago I started reading the stoics.  I'm convinced that to be a good Father, Husband, and leader, applying that way of thinking is required.  We should be virtuous, indifferent to external forces, live according to nature, rational, exercise self control, contribute to the good of our family, neighbors, and friends, and be strong mentally and physically. At the end of the day we're not just raising children, we're raising philosophers and conquerors that will one day blaze a path across the world. “This is what you should teach me, how to be like Odysseus—how to love my country, wife and father, and how, even after suffering shipwreck, I might keep sailing on course to those honorable ends.” – Seneca the Younger-