Episode Overview

Podcast: The Daily Stoic
Episode: So This is the New Year? | Make 2026 Your Best Year With These 6 Simple Stoic Rules
Host: Ryan Holiday
Date: January 2, 2026

Ryan Holiday kicks off the new year by questioning why we often feel unchanged despite the traditional hype surrounding New Year’s resolutions. Drawing on Stoic philosophy, he explores how we can truly make 2026 our best year by embodying six fundamental Stoic principles. The episode is part call to action, part philosophical meditation, and it offers both practical advice and timeless wisdom for personal transformation.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Illusion of the New Year

• [00:56] Ryan reflects on the widespread New Year's celebration and the disconnect between the external event (the calendar turning) and our internal sense of change.

• Quote:

  "Here it is in all its underwhelming glory. So this is the new. I don't feel any different. That's a death cab for cutie song called the New Year. Maybe the New Year doesn't feel any different because we're not any different."
  — Ryan Holiday, [01:19]

• He likens our repetition of old habits to Marcus Aurelius’s weary gladiators—engaged in the same struggles year after year:

• Quote:

  "Determined to keep on living the lives we've been living, even though we're bedraggled and degraded, torn half to pieces... pleading to be held over till tomorrow, to be bitten and clawed again."
  — Ryan Holiday, paraphrasing Marcus Aurelius, [01:41]

2. Why Not Try Something New?

• [02:20] Ryan urges listeners to break free from old patterns instead of fighting the current, and to strive to become the people philosophy hopes we'll be.
• He plugs the "Daily Stoic New Year New You Challenge"—21 days of stoic-inspired practices designed to push participants out of their comfort zones ([02:37]).

3. Six Stoic Rules for an Unconquerable 2026

Introduced at [05:57]

Rule 1: Don’t Have an Opinion About Everything

• [06:00] Drawing from Marcus Aurelius, Ryan highlights the importance of preserving your mental energy:

• Quote:

  "Remember, we always have the power to have no opinion."
  — Ryan Holiday, [06:05]

• He encourages listeners to avoid being swept up in news cycles and social media arguments, and instead focus on what really matters:

• Quote:

  "Stop giving your time away... We're protective of our property and our money, and then we're frivolous with our time. The one thing you can't recover."
  — Ryan Holiday, [06:59]

Rule 2: Make Time Precious—Don’t Waste It

• Life isn’t short, it's wasted. Seneca’s notion that a year is a long time only becomes problematic when we fritter it away on inessential things.
• Quote:

  "How are you going to spend them on things that matter?"
  — Ryan Holiday, [07:32]

Rule 3: Always Challenge Yourself—Get Comfortable with Discomfort

• Drawing from Seneca, who would purposefully endure discomfort to strengthen his resilience ([07:46]):

• Quote:

  "The point of this was to get up close and comfortable with conditions... so you can then say to yourself, this is what I was afraid of."
  — Ryan Holiday, [07:57]

• Ryan connects this principle to the 21-day challenge and the importance of voluntary discomfort for growth.

Rule 4: Do Something for the Common Good Every Day

• Repeatedly, Marcus Aurelius emphasizes the common good:

• Quote:

  "The fruit of a good life is good character and acts for the common good."
  — Ryan Holiday, [09:42]

• Stoicism isn't just self-improvement; it's about positively impacting others and the world.

Rule 5: Don’t Suffer More Than Necessary

• Drawing from Seneca again:

• Quote:

  "He who suffers before it is necessary suffers more than is necessary."
  — Ryan Holiday, [10:03]

• Ryan explains that much of our suffering is anticipatory, and urges listeners to focus on problem-solving rather than anxious rumination.

Rule 6: Reduce Your Desires

• Epictetus is invoked:

• Quote:

  "If you wish for things to be as they are, you will have them."
  — Ryan Holiday, [11:27]

• Seneca:

• Quote:

  "It's not the person who has little that's poor, it's the person who wants more. The most avoidable form of poverty is wanting more than you have."
  — Ryan Holiday, [11:49]

• Ryan connects contentment and gratitude to a prosperous year, warning against the treadmill of endless wanting.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "Maybe the New Year doesn't feel any different because we're not any different." — Ryan Holiday, [01:22]
• "Don't chase every trend. Don't chase every latest outrage. Focus your attention where it matters." — Ryan Holiday, [06:43]
• "Life isn't short. Seneca says, a year is a long time. The problem? We just waste it." — Ryan Holiday, [06:59]
• "Always be challenging yourself. The Stoics would say, life is uncomfortable, so get used to being uncomfortable." — Ryan Holiday, [07:35]
• "Do good things. Stoicism is not just about self improvement. It's a philosophy around helping others and improving the world." — Ryan Holiday, [09:35]
• "The most avoidable form of poverty is wanting more than you have." — Ryan Holiday, [11:48]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:56 – Reflection on the underwhelming nature of the new year
• 02:37 – Introduction of the Daily Stoic New Year New You Challenge
• 05:57 – Introduction to the six Stoic rules
• 06:00 – Rule 1: Don’t have an opinion about everything
• 07:35 – Rule 3: Embrace voluntary discomfort
• 09:35 – Rule 4: Do something for the common good
• 10:03 – Rule 5: Don’t suffer more than necessary
• 11:27 – Rule 6: Reduce your desires

Conclusion

Ryan Holiday encourages listeners to use Stoicism as a framework to actually change in the new year—rather than repeat unproductive habits or wait for profound change to "just happen." The six Stoic rules blend ancient wisdom with practical action, urging each listener to cultivate focused attention, resilience, community-mindedness, calm, and contentment in 2026.

For more actionable Stoic content and to join the 21-day challenge, listeners are invited to visit DailyStoic.com/challenge.