This Is The Only Thing You Get to Choose | There Is Philosophy In Everything

Summary

The Daily Stoic – "This Is The Only Thing You Get to Choose | There Is Philosophy In Everything"

Hosted by Ryan Holiday | March 23, 2026

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Overview of the Episode

In this Daily Stoic episode, Ryan Holiday explores the foundational Stoic principle that, amid life's unpredictable and uncontrollable circumstances, the only true freedom we possess is how we respond. Drawing inspiration from Stoic philosophers—particularly Marcus Aurelius and Epictetus—Holiday dissects how philosophy is not reserved for the extraordinary moments in life, but is woven into daily routines and responses. The episode emphasizes living philosophy through action rather than just abstract contemplation, using both historical anecdotes and practical modern-day applications.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Only Thing You Get to Choose: Your Response

• Stoic Historical Perspective:
  Holiday recounts Marcus Aurelius’s struggles—plagues, wars, family turmoil—and notes we all hit points where we feel like we “can’t handle one more thing going wrong.”
  • Quote: “I don't think I'm up for this,” — John Gregory Dunn, reflecting a shared human sentiment (00:21).
• Joan Didion's Stoic Reply:
  When Dunn expresses his exhaustion, Didion replies:
  • Quote: “You don't get a choice.” (00:40)
    This aligns with the core Stoic teaching: we cannot control what happens, only our reaction.

2. Living Philosophy in Everyday Life

• Epictetus's Guidance:
  Holiday reads from Epictetus Discourses 3, 21:
  • Quote: “Eat like a human being, drink like a human being... bear with a headstrong brother... Show us these things so that we can see that you truly have learned from the philosophers.” (04:40)
• Philosophy in the Ordinary:
  Living Stoic principles is less about heroic gestures and more about how one:
  • Goes to work
  • Maintains relationships (calls family, waves to neighbors, interacts with delivery people)
  • Faces minor hardships and interpersonal conflicts
  • Quote: “All of that is philosophy. All of it is experience that brings meaning to the words you know.” (05:50)

3. The Example of Socrates: Embodying Philosophy

• Teaching by Example:
  Drawing from Plutarch’s description of Socrates, Holiday stresses the importance of living philosophy:
  • Socrates taught not by lecture, but by his way of living—serving in the army, walking the marketplace, even in his death.
  • Quote: “They didn’t talk about it. He was about it. Right? Don’t talk about it, be about it.” (06:45)

4. Applying Philosophy Everywhere

• Stoics as Engaged World Participants:
  The philosophers were not detached intellectuals; they were fathers, emperors, slaves—engaged in every context of daily life.
  • Quote: “They were philosophers when they were sick, philosophers visiting their family over the holidays.” (07:42)
• Real Philosophy is Daily, Not Just Extraordinary:
  The crucial test of Stoicism comes in responses to daily annoyances—“obnoxious people,” moments of fatigue, or disappointment.
  • Quote: “Anyone can be great in a crisis. It takes power and strength and fortitude to be resilient and philosophical in the ordinary everydayness of life.” (08:04)
• The “Obstacle is the Way”:
  When Marcus Aurelius said this, he referred to small, everyday obstacles—not just major crises.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “The only thing we get a choice in is how we respond.” – Ryan Holiday paraphrasing both Stoic philosophy and Joan Didion (00:45)
• “Study, yes, but go live your life as well. It’s the only way that you’ll actually understand what any of it means.” – Ryan Holiday, interpreting Epictetus (05:20)
• “Don’t talk about it, be about it.” – Ryan Holiday, channeling both Epictetus and Socrates (06:45)
• “This is why I call it the Daily Stoic—something you apply every day in big situations and little ones alike.” – Ryan Holiday (08:20)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:21 – Story about John Gregory Dunn, Joan Didion, and Stoic response to adversity
• 04:40 – Epictetus quote about living philosophy
• 05:20 – Plutarch’s insight on philosophy as lived experience
• 06:45 – Socrates as a model for embodying philosophy
• 08:04 – The challenge of applying Stoic resilience in everyday, not just crisis, situations
• 08:20 – Explanation of the Daily Stoic ethos: daily application of philosophy

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Summary Flow and Takeaways

Drawing from both ancient Stoic texts and modern examples, Ryan Holiday delivers a clear, actionable reminder: life’s adversity is inevitable, and while we cannot choose what happens to us, we always retain the choice of how to respond. Philosophy is not meant for the classroom or pedestal, but for the kitchen, the workplace, the family dinner. Whether you are an emperor, a mechanic, or a parent, “There is philosophy in everything”—and living well means making Stoic virtues visible in even the smallest moments of our daily lives.

Transcript

[Ryan Holiday]

Welcome to the Daily Stoic podcast, designed

[Co-host or Producer]

to help bring those four key Stoic

[Ryan Holiday]

virtues courage, discipline, justice and wisdom into the real world.

[Co-host or Producer]

After everything that's happened in the last

[Ryan Holiday]

few years, we're tired. After everything that's happened in your life,

[Co-host or Producer]

after everything that's gone wrong the last

[Ryan Holiday]

couple weeks, you think to yourself, I can't handle one more thing going wrong. Certainly Marcus Aurelius would have related to that sentiment. Floods and plagues and wars, a troubled son, personal health issues. Haven't I given enough? We have, Marcus R. Say in a recent Daily Stoic video. The thing is, life doesn't care, has no time for your questions. It pays no mind to your limits. I don't think I'm up for this, the novelist John Gregory Dunn said to his wife as they left the hospital after rushing to check on their daughter, who had just been admitted. He was down about his career. He wasn't feeling great about his own health. He was sick about his only child. He was worried it would be a long and hard road ahead for them. Joan Didion, his steely, Stoic wife, responded with something we can imagine Marcus Aurelius reminding himself of in Meditations. You don't get a choice, she says. Fortune behaves as she pleases, the Stoics said. Life disposes. It decides. The only thing we get a choice in is how we respond.

[Co-host or Producer]

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[Ryan Holiday]

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[Co-host or Producer]

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[Ryan Holiday]

Hey, it's Ryan Holiday. Welcome to another episode of the Daily Stoke podcast. There is philosophy in everything. This is the March 24 entry in the Daily Stoic. 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance in the Art of Living. Holding the hardcover here, but maybe you like audiobooks? You want to listen to the audiobook? You can grab the Leatherbound edition in the Daily Stoics store. You can grab an ebook if you want, but today's quote is from epictetus Discourses. We had our streak of many Marx release entries in a row, and now I think we're on an equally long epictetus streak. Epictetus says eat like a human being, drink like a human being, dress up, marry, have children, get politically active, suffer abuse, bear with a headstrong brother, father, son, neighbor or companions. Show us these things so that we can see that you truly have learned from the philosophers. That's Epictetus. Discourses 3, 21. Plutarch, a Roman biographer as well as an admirer of the Stoics, although not always he had his disagreements. He didn't begin his study of the greats of Roman literature until late in life. But as he recounts in his biography of Demosthenes, he was surprised at how quickly it all came at him. He wrote, it wasn't so much the words that brought me into a full understanding of events, as that somehow I had a personal experience of the events that allowed me to follow closely the meaning of the words. This is what Epictetus means about the study of philosophy. Study, yes, but go live your life as well. It's the only way that you'll actually understand what any of it means. And more importantly, it's only from your actions and choices over time that it will be possible to see whether you took any of the teachings to heart. Be aware of that today when you are going to work, going on a date, deciding whom to vote for, calling your parents in the evening, waving to your neighbor as you walk to your door, tipping the delivery man, saying goodnight to someone you love. All of that is philosophy. All of it is experience that brings meaning to the words, you know. There's another quote from Plutarch. He was talking about Socrates, and he said, you know, Socrates didn't teach. As he sat down at his desk and lectured his students, he taught and how he lived his life, how he served in the army, how he walked through the marketplace, how he talked to his wife, how he talked to his children. He taught his students. He said, as he drank the hemlock and died, Socrates wasn't talking about his philosophy. He was, as Epictetus said, embodying his philosophy. They didn't talk about it. He was about it. Right? Don't talk about it, be about it. But what I like from this, what I think is important, that we realize with the Stoics, is that the philosophers weren't these kind of, you know, abstract, theoretical people. The Stoics were living their lives. They were engaged in the world. They weren't philosophers writing their works. They were philosophers in how they raised their kids, how they dealt with being tired from a long, dusty day of travel. They were philosophers in disputes, philosophers when they were sick, philosophers visiting their family over the holidays. Right? Philosophy was something that you applied to life, but not in the big, magnificent, heroic moments, but the regular, the ordinary, the simply human moments, and that this is what really tests us, this is what really challenges us. But this is also the opportunity. You know, when Marx really says the obstacle is the way, he isn't actually talking about major crises, he's talking about obnoxious people who are getting in our way. There's another great quote. I'm forgetting who said it. Something like, anyone can be great in a crisis. It takes power and strength and fortitude to be resilient and philosophical in the ordinary everydayness of life. That's the challenge. That's why I call it the Daily Stoic. Something you apply every day in big situations and little ones alike. Ordinary and extraordinary. As a family member, as a friend, as a spouse, as a parent, as an academic, as a mechanic, as emperor, as a slave. That's what Stoicism is really about. And I think it's a worthy reminder. I think it's such a wonderful, cool thing to think of that idea from Epictetus making its way to Marcus Aurelius and then him having to put it in practice. How different all their lives were. Anyways, that's my stoic message for today. I'll leave you there and talk to you all very soon.

[Co-host or Producer]

Hey, it's Ryan. Thank you for listening to the Daily Stoic podcast. I just wanted to say we so appreciate it. We love serving you. It's amazing to us that over 30

[Ryan Holiday]

million people have downloaded these episodes in the couple years we've been doing it.

[Co-host or Producer]

It's an honor. Please spread the word, tell people about it. And this isn't to sell anything.

[Ryan Holiday]

I just wanted to say thank you.

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