If You Want to Make the World Better, Do This | Give Thanks

Summary

The Daily Stoic Podcast

Episode Title: If You Want to Make the World Better, Do This | Give Thanks
Date: December 29, 2025
Host: Ryan Holiday

---

Episode Overview

In this episode, Ryan Holiday explores two interconnected Stoic principles: the power of self-improvement as a catalyst for broader societal change and the transformative potential of gratitude—even amid adversity. Drawing on the writings of Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and Epictetus, Holiday challenges listeners to begin the new year by focusing inward, making themselves the light in a sometimes dark world, and practicing gratitude for all aspects of their experience. The episode also briefly introduces the "Daily Stoic New Year New You Challenge" for those seeking structured guidance in applying these principles.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Stoic Approach to Improving the World

Timestamp: 00:00 – 04:36

• Facing a Troubled World:
  Ryan opens by acknowledging the negativity, dysfunction, and cruelty that feel pervasive in society, pointing out that no one believes "this is how society should work."

  "No one thinks this is how things should be. No one thinks this is how society should work. There's cruelty, there's stupidity, people being left behind. We're failing to address basic problems, we're failing at basic functions." (Ryan Holiday, 00:29)

• Start With Yourself:
  Drawing on Epictetus, Ryan explains that Stoics believe the best way to change the world is to start by improving oneself:

  • Epictetus "preferred to cultivate his own improvement day to day" rather than be consumed by external matters, even when living in the harsh environment of Nero's Rome.
  • Self-Improvement is contagious: "Stoicism is the art of getting active in your own rescue. And in so doing, you end up rescuing others."

  “By reforming and improving ourselves, we are reforming and improving the world because we are a part of the world.” (Ryan Holiday, 01:47)

• Collective Good Through Individual Goodness:
  Paraphrasing Marcus Aurelius, Ryan notes that "What improves the bee, improves the hive," emphasizing that personal growth contributes to the greater good.

  “What improves the bee, improves the hive.” (Ryan Holiday, 02:10)

• Actionable Resolutions for the New Year:
  Rather than waiting for society or others to change, Ryan urges listeners to:

  • Break bad habits
  • Resist divisiveness
  • Tackle long-delayed self-improvement tasks
  • Strive to become the person that virtue and philosophy aim to cultivate

• Immediate Action:

  "Let's fight to be the person that philosophy tried to make us, as Marcus Aurelius said, not later, not only if everyone else does too, but right now, on our own." (Ryan Holiday, 03:25)

• Invitation:
  Ryan introduces the "Daily Stoic New Year New You Challenge," a 21-day program beginning January 1st, aimed at fostering these improvements in a community setting.

---

2. The Practice and Power of Gratitude

Timestamp: 06:43 – 09:54

• Gratitude as a Stoic Practice:
  Reading Seneca’s meditations on gratitude (Moral Letters 81), the episode highlights that gratitude is personally rewarding and self-reinforcing.

  “In all things, we should try to make ourselves as grateful as possible, Seneca says in moral letters 81, for gratitude is a good thing for ourselves… Gratitude pays itself back in large measure.” (Daily Stoic Narrator, 06:45)

• Gratitude as Perspective:
  Ryan encourages gratitude for both obvious and overlooked blessings—from major privileges to minor daily joys.

  • Examples include being alive, living in a time of peace, enjoying small kindnesses, pleasant weather, or a favorite song.

  "The person who smiled at you? The woman who held the door open? The song you liked on the radio? The pleasant weather? Gratitude is infectious. Its positivity is radiant." (Daily Stoic Narrator, 07:31)

• Gratitude as Resilience in Adversity:
  Advocates purposely practicing gratitude not only for positive circumstances but even for pain, disagreement, and adversity:

  "I try on a really consistent basis to take the time to express gratitude for things that maybe on the surface, I'm not grateful for... political polarization, Trump critics, pain that I feel, an argument that I just had, that I'm sick." (Ryan Holiday, 08:12)

• Active Practice:
  Ryan references his daily gratitude journal—a gift from Mona Kattan—and his method of writing down not only what he’s thankful for, but also finding the silver lining in negative experiences. He invokes Pete Holmes’s forgiveness exercise as an analogy for gratitude: feeling gratitude even when it’s not automatic, until it becomes real.

• Stoic Perspective:
  Marcus Aurelius is quoted on reframing every occurrence as a “gift from the gods,” reinforcing the habit of grateful acceptance.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Self-Reliance for the Greater Good:

  “Stoicism is the art of getting active in your own rescue. And in so doing, you end up rescuing others.” (Ryan Holiday, 01:39)

• Personal Accountability:

  "I don't control what they do. I don't control what the norm is. I don't control what the trends are. But I control whether I get serious. I control whether I get better." (Ryan Holiday, 03:54)

• On Practicing Gratitude During Adversity:

  “I try to express explicitly there on those pages, gratitude for things that, again, I'm not feeling grateful for. But in taking a moment to write why I am grateful for them, I become grateful for them.” (Ryan Holiday, 08:19)

• Transforming Perspective:

  “Convince yourself that everything is a gift from the gods, that it's all a gift, that you're grateful for all of it, that it's great, even though it doesn't always feel that way.” (Ryan Holiday paraphrasing Marcus Aurelius, 09:39)

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Introduction + Problem Statement           00:00 – 01:10
• Stoic Solutions: Start With Yourself          01:11 – 02:20
• Collective Good Through Personal Growth       02:21 – 03:25
• New Year New You Challenge Invitation        03:26 – 04:36
• Gratitude Reading & Commentary            06:43 – 09:54
• Journaling and Practicing Challenging Gratitude    07:57 – 09:44

---

Conclusion

This episode underscores the timeless Stoic message: true societal change starts within. By committing to personal improvement and actively practicing gratitude—especially when it's challenging—we contribute to both our own fulfillment and the betterment of those around us. “What improves the bee, improves the hive,” and this new year, the invitation is clear: be the change, and give thanks for the opportunity.

---

[To participate in the 21-day challenge or learn more, visit daily stoic.com/challenge]

Transcript

[Ryan Holiday]

Foreign. Welcome to the Daily Stoic Podcast, where each day we bring you a Stoic inspired meditation designed to help you find strength and insight and wisdom into everyday life. Each one of these episodes is Based on the 2000 year old philosophy that has guided some of history's greatest men and women. Help you learn from them, to follow in their example, and to start your day off with a little dose of courage and discipline and justice and wisdom. For more, visit Dailystoic.com. If you want to make the world better, do this. It's discouraging out there. It's a sad state of affairs. No one thinks this is how things should be. No one thinks this is how society should work. There's cruelty, there's stupidity, people being left behind. We're failing to address basic problems, we're failing at basic functions. Okay, so what do we do? After all, each of us is only an individual. Well, the Stoics tell us that this is precisely the place to start. While others were obsessed with working their land or breeding their horses, Epictetus said that he preferred to cultivate his own improvement day to day. Rome was a dark and screwed up place then, especially in Nero's court where he lived. But Epictetus turned himself into a bright light. He was a beacon that shined then and continues to shine today. Stoicism is the art of getting active in your own rescue. And in so doing, you end up rescuing others. By reforming and improving ourselves, we are reforming and improving the world because we are a part of the world. To put a spin on one of Marcus Aurelius great lines. What improves the bee, improves the hive. Look, we don't control what anyone else is going to do in 2026, but we can guarantee, right here, right now, that it won't be all bad. We can make sure, right here, right now, that things do move forward. How? By making sure that we are good in 2026. By making sure that we take a big step forward in the year ahead. We can be of service to the hive, to society, by getting serious about taking care of of ourselves. Let's quit those bad habits. Let's opt out of the nastiness and the divisiveness. Let's focus on getting better. Let's get serious about stuff we've put off. Let's lend a helping hand. Let's fight to be the person that philosophy tried to make us, as Marcus Aurelius said, not later, not only if everyone else does too, but right now, on our own. Because we know we need to. Because we know Somebody needs to. And look, my way of getting serious about this every year, and I do this every year is through the Daily Stoic New Year New you challenge. It's 21 days of stoic inspired challenges that kick off on January 1st that are designed to make me cultivate that improvement, that are designed to make me be what I wish more people would be in the year ahead. I don't control what they do. I don't control what the norm is. I don't control what the trends are. But I control whether I get serious. I control whether I get better. Right. I control whether I'm upright spot or not in the year ahead. And that's what we built the challenge around. And by the way, you're not gonna be doing it alone. Cause it's gonna be thousands of Stoics all over the world doing it as well. We've been doing it for almost 10 years now. I have habits, practices, things I picked up in the 2019 challenge and the 2018 challenge and the 2022. Every year we do a new version of the Daily Stoic New Year New youw Challenge gets better every year. And it helps thousands of people all over the world get better too. I'd love to see you in there. You can sign up right now@daily stoic.com challenge. It's going to be awesome, but it starts here really soon. It's going to start on January 1st, so you got to sign up before it's too late. Dailystoic.com challenge I will see you in there.

[Toyota Trucks Commercial Voice]

The world is full of tours. But you don't choose a Toyota truck to follow the beaten path. You choose it to find the places.

[Daily Stoic Narrator]

In between.

[Toyota Trucks Commercial Voice]

The detours, where each adventure pulls you toward the next and wrong turns to the right. So why would you ever take a tour when you could take a detour? Toyota Trucks.

[Ryan Holiday]

Thanks to Toyota Trucks for sponsoring this episode. When I bought my ranch in 2015 out here in Bastow County, I drove my car about halfway down the dirt road that we live on, thought, this isn't going to work. Stopped, parked it, walked the rest of the way home, borrowed my wife's car, drove into Austin and bought a truck. What I bought was a Toyota Tacoma. And this truck wasn't just transportation getting me to and from my house. It unlocked a whole different style of living for us. Not just on the ranch, but in our little Texas towns. There were places I could go now that I couldn't go before, especially out here in the piney forests, through the fields and on the unpaved roads like the one that I lived in. We got to go deep into the Hill Country's wild beauty. We've driven all the way out to East Texas. We've driven it across the country. And by we, I mean not just my wife, but both my kids, who I drove home from the hospital in that truck. Toyota trucks are built for those who understand that the best adventures happen when you're willing to veer off course, because you never know when you'll end up on a Toyota Adventure Detour. And of course, this is stoicism, too, because every detour, every obstacle is an opportunity. But it's helpful if you can handle the difficulty inherent in that. If you've got the resilience and the right companion to make it wherever the road takes you, discover your uncharted territory. Learn [e-mail] Trucks Adventure detours give thanks.

[Daily Stoic Narrator]

This is the December 29 entry in the Daily Stoic. In all things, we should try to make ourselves as grateful as possible, seneca says in moral letters 81 for gratitude is a good thing for ourselves. In a manner in which justice, commonly held to belong to others, is not, gratitude pays itself back in large measure. I guess what you could say is that gratitude is a gift you give yourself, even though you are expressing your gratefulness to other people. But think of all the things that you could be grateful for today. That you are alive, that you live primarily in a time of peace, that you have enough health and leisure to read a book or listen to this podcast. But what of the little things? The person who smiled at you? The woman who held the door open? The song you liked on the radio? The pleasant weather? Gratitude is infectious. Its positivity is radiant. Even if today was your last day on earth, even if you knew in advance that it was going to end in a few short hours, would there not still be plenty of things to be grateful for? How much better would your life be if you kicked off every morning like that? If you let it carry through from morning to night and touch every single part of your life? I think about gratitude a lot. Obviously. We did our Thanksgiving message a month ago where we're talking about gratitude. I have a gratitude journal, actually. Mona Kattan, the makeup artist and online influencer, sent it to me as a gift a couple years ago. And I write like one or two things that I'm grateful for a day. You know, my family, my friends, my success. You know, the obvious things. But I try on a really consistent basis to take the time to express gratitude for things that Maybe on the surface, I'm not grateful for political polarization, Trump critics, pain that I feel, an argument that I just had that I'm sick. I try to express explicitly there on those pages, gratitude for things that, again, I'm not feeling grateful for. But in taking a moment to write why I am grateful for them, I become grateful for them. I force myself to see something good in them. I force myself to find a positive in it. I force a way to see that actually I'm quite lucky. Even if this thing is itself an unlucky thing, right? And in perspective of all the things that I am lucky for, this little bit of bad luck isn't so bad. And so forcing myself to write that down, to think about is really great. My friend Pete Holmes, a comedian, talked about how whenever he thinks of his parents, he says to himself, I forgive them. He's actively practicing what he wants to feel, even though he doesn't actually feel that. And it becomes true over time. And I think this is an exercise we can apply to gratitude. And Marcus says, convince yourself that everything is a gift from the gods, that it's all a gift, that you're grateful for all of it, that it's great, even though it doesn't always feel that way. Talk soon.

[Ryan Holiday]

Hey, it's Ryan.

[Daily Stoic Narrator]

Thank you for listening to the Daily Stoic podcast.

[Ryan Holiday]

I just wanted to say we so appreciate it. We love serving you. It's amazing to us that over 30.

[Daily Stoic Narrator]

Million people have downloaded these episodes in.

[Ryan Holiday]

The couple years we've been doing it. It's an honor.

[Daily Stoic Narrator]

Please spread the word, tell people about it. And and this isn't to sell anything.

[Ryan Holiday]

I just wanted to say thank you.

[Toyota Trucks Customer Testimonial]

My family owns a 2023 Toyota 4Runner, and honestly, it's my favorite vehicle that I've ever owned. I around town, it's smooth and reliable. But where it really shines is on our trips into the backcountry. We've taken it on backpacking adventures to Colorado and New Mexico, loaded up with gear and never had to think twice about whether it could handle the terrain. That's what Toyota trucks are built for. Off road confidence, rugged durability, and the freedom to explore. Toyota has a long history with the outdoor community, and they're committed to helping more people get out there and experience what nature has to offer. From remote trails to scenic byways, Toyota Trucks empowers you to take the detour, roam freely, and discover places that still feel wild and untouched. And they're not just making great trucks. They're working to expand access to adventure so more people can connect with the outdoors and pass that passion on to the next generation. Discover your uncharted territory. Learn [e-mail] Trucks Adventure Detours. That's toyota.com Trucks Adventure detours.

[Toyota Trucks Commercial Voice]

You hear that? That's not just a Toyota truck. That's the sound of no crowds, no alerts, no distractions, and no telling what you'll find next. You know, like a detour. So why would you ever take a tour when you could take a detour? Toyota trucks.