You’ve Been Given a Fresh Chance | Ask Daily Stoic

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Daily Stoic – "You’ve Been Given a Fresh Chance | Ask Daily Stoic"

Host: Ryan Holiday
Release Date: January 1, 2026

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Overview:

The episode, timed with the New Year, explores the Stoic concept of "fresh starts," the relentless passage of time, and how 2026 presents a renewed opportunity to live intentionally and meaningfully. Ryan Holiday discusses the value of community, balancing creativity and structure, the thoughtful use of social media, and the importance of routines—all through the lens of Stoic philosophy. The episode features listener Q&A, providing practical insights for applying Stoicism in daily life.

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Key Themes & Discussion Points

1. The New Year as a Fresh Start

Ryan Holiday reflects on the significance of the New Year (01:06–02:18):

• The countdown to midnight isn’t just a celebration—it's a marker that another year is gone, never to return.
• "Tempus fugit, memento mori. The Stoics did not take note of how fast time flies in the shortness of life to be morbid, no. They sought invigoration. They sought perspective. They sought clarity." (01:17, Ryan Holiday)
• Seneca's advice: Treat each morning as a bonus, and similarly, each year as a gift—a "fresh chance at life."
• Encourages listeners to use 2026 as an opportunity to live intentionally: “Forget business as usual. Have something to show for the next 365 days. Have something to show for today, for this very moment.” (02:20–02:29, Ryan Holiday)

2. The Importance of Community in Practicing Stoic Values

Listener Q (07:14): How essential is it to be part of a community that shares my Stoic values?
Ryan Holiday responds (07:28–09:53):

• Being around like-minded people helps you grow and keeps you accountable. He references the Scipionic Circle in ancient Rome—groups gathering for philosophical discussions.
• Quote: “Anyone who's ever been part of a scene of like-minded thinkers, or, you know, whatever it is that you do, it's wonderful. I think you do have to have a community like that.” (07:44, Ryan Holiday)
• However, only surrounding yourself with those sharing all your beliefs can be limiting; diversity is valuable.
• Suggests seeking both communities directly related to Stoicism and those in your area of work/life that help you improve.

3. Stoicism and Creativity—Are They Compatible?

Listener Q (09:57): Does Stoicism’s focus on structure conflict with creative inspiration, or can they be combined?
Ryan Holiday responds (11:17–13:01):

• Stoicism and creativity are not at odds. Many Stoics were artists, playwrights, musicians.
• Meditations by Marcus Aurelius is itself a “beautiful, chaotic work of art.”
• Quote: “If your life is absorbed by [chaos], I think it saps your energy… Actually, the freedom you need to do and be those things comes from structure.” (12:00, Ryan Holiday)
• Method and discipline support the time needed for creativity, even if the creative act may seem chaotic or spontaneous.
• Advocates for structured time to foster creativity, but warns against an entirely unstructured life.

4. Navigating Social Media as a Creator

Listener Q (13:04): Should I be creating content on social media, even though it feels distracting and potentially at odds with Stoic virtues?
Ryan Holiday’s take (13:59–16:23):

• Acknowledges the reach and opportunity of social media, both for sharing work and making connections.
• Cautions: “I do think spending a lot of time on these platforms fights for the resources needed to make great stuff and it's also toxic and it breaks your brain.” (14:52, Ryan Holiday)
• Uses social media as a broadcast tool; avoids real-time reactions and feedback from strangers, keeps apps off his devices.
• Suggests strict boundaries: “Using the stuff is great, but having the discipline and the boundaries to not be controlled by them is really important.” (16:15, Ryan Holiday)

Follow-Up Q: Is a social media presence necessary, or just an ego pursuit?

Ryan Holiday:

• “Both. I mean, I do think you have to have a presence. I think this is how you engage and connect with people…You’ve got to make sure that you’re using it as opposed to it using you.” (16:40–17:02, Ryan Holiday)

5. Daily Structure & Flexibility

Listener Q (17:02): Is Ryan’s daily routine tightly scheduled or more flexible?
Ryan Holiday (17:29–18:18):

• He follows a “rhythm” and relies on noticing diminishing returns: stops working on something when progress stalls.
• “I just kind of have these periods where this is what I’m supposed to be doing… If it’s still working and I’m getting traction, I might extend it. And if I’m just pounding my head against the wall, I might wind it down early.” (17:29–18:18, Ryan Holiday)
• Routine adapts with life changes—children’s schedules, seasons, daylight, etc. Flexibility is key within the overall structure.

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Memorable Quotes

• “Tempus fugit, memento mori. The Stoics did not take note of how fast time flies in the shortness of life to be morbid, no. They sought invigoration.” (01:17, Ryan Holiday)
• “Anyone who’s ever been part of a scene of like-minded thinkers…it’s wonderful. I think you do have to have a community like that.” (07:44, Ryan Holiday)
• “If your life is absorbed by [chaos], it saps your energy…the freedom you need to do and be those things comes from structure.” (12:00, Ryan Holiday)
• “All the dumb things that I’ve ever said on social media, [they] have been in real time, like on an app…which is why I don’t really have the apps on my devices anymore.” (15:16, Ryan Holiday)
• “You’ve got to make sure that you’re using [social media] as opposed to it using you.” (17:02, Ryan Holiday)

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Timestamps for Key Sections

• 00:57–02:48: New Year reflections, Stoic philosophy on time and renewal
• 07:14–09:53: Importance of community and the Scipionic Circle
• 09:57–13:01: Creativity vs. structure in Stoicism
• 13:04–16:23: Creating content vs. the distractions of social media
• 17:02–18:52: Ryan’s approach to routine, scheduling, and flexibility

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Conclusion:

Ryan Holiday’s episode, marking the start of 2026, is a heartfelt meditation on Stoic concepts of renewal, the value of intentional living, and forming supportive communities. Listener questions spark practical discussions on creativity, social media discipline, and the art of balancing structure with flexibility—central themes for anyone seeking to make the most of a new beginning.

Transcript

[Listener]

Foreign.

[Daily Stoic Announcer]

Welcome to the Daily Stoic Podcast where.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

Each day we bring you a stoic.

[Daily Stoic Announcer]

Inspired meditation designed to help you find strength and insight and wisdom into everyday life.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

Each one of these episodes is Based.

[Daily Stoic Announcer]

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. It's kind of a funny tradition when.

[Ryan Holiday]

You think about it, isn't it? How we stay up late each year.

[Daily Stoic Announcer]

And count down the final seconds of the year together. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

[Ryan Holiday]

Happy New Year.

We cheer, we celebrate.

[Daily Stoic Announcer]

It's a big show to mark the end the year. But how many of us, in a.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

Rush for a kiss or as the.

[Daily Stoic Announcer]

Glasses clink together, really feel what's just happened? Those seconds we were counting down were seconds we'll never get back. Our time here tick, tick, ticking away. A year of our lives is gone forever. Tempus fugit, memento mori. The Stoics did not take note of how fast time flies in the shortness of life to be morbid, no. They sought invigoration. They sought perspective. They sought clarity. Seneca said that if you went to bed thinking that you would live your whole life, the morning would feel like a bonus. We can apply the same thinking annually. Who we were in 2025 is dead and gone. Here we are, lucky enough to rise again in 2026, a year that perhaps many of us did not ever expect to see. We have beaten the death. We have been given a fresh chance at life.

[Ryan Holiday]

Who will we be?

[Daily Stoic Announcer]

How will we spend it? This is an incredible gift. You have been given a wonderful opportunity. Forget business as usual.

[Listener]

Live.

[Daily Stoic Announcer]

Have something to show for the next 365 days. Have something to show for today, for this very moment.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

Support for this show comes from Fundrise. Look, investing in companies already in The S&P 500 can sometimes feel like you're being served someone else's leftovers. Could still be a good meal, but it's hard not to imagine what that food tasted like when it was fresh. You know, historically it's only VC investors and, you know, insiders and hedge fund managers and stuff who had access to the best companies in the world before the public did.

[Ryan Holiday]

One of the things you find out.

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[Ryan Holiday]

Potential loss of principal.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

Past performance is not indicative of future results. And this is a paid advertisement. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp.

[Ryan Holiday]

I actually just finished my online therapy session just a few minutes ago.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

The year's coming to an end. I guess I could have pushed it till January, but I thought, you know what? No, I want the holidays to go well. I want to be focused on what I should be focused on.

[Ryan Holiday]

I want to take care of myself.

I. I want to get better.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

And that's where today's sponsor, BetterHelp, comes in. Therapy is a great way to get a unbiased perspective on your life.

[Ryan Holiday]

It's how you can get a weight off your shoulders.

It's so you can focus on the future.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

It's so you can break old patterns and be who you want to be in 2026. With over 30,000 therapists, BetterHelp is one of the world's largest online therapy platforms. They've served more than 5 million people all over the world. BetterHelp therapists work according to a strict code of conduct. They are fully licensed the US and they even do the initial matching work for you so you can focus on your therapy goals. If you aren't happy with your therapist, you can switch to a different one at any time from their recommendations.

[Ryan Holiday]

If you want to leave some stuff.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

Behind, leave it in the past, leave it in 2025. Well, BetterHelp can help you do that. And you can sign up right now for 10% [e-mail] Dailystoicpod that's betterhelp.com Daily.

[Ryan Holiday]

Stoicpod Foreign.

Hey, it's Ryan. Welcome to another episode of the Daily Stoic podcast. I am in Hollywood, Florida at the moment doing my last gig of the year. I'm in that big hard rock guitar hotel.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

It's pretty cool.

[Ryan Holiday]

I'm gonna go downstairs, what, in two hours to do this little talk. You're listening to this on New Year's Day, probably, or somewhere around New Year's. Not when I'm recording this. This is mid December, But I'm gonna go down and give a talk here in a and then I'm going to answer some questions, which is my favorite part of what I get to do. I've met people all over the world doing this and it's my favorite thing, answering your questions. Then usually you have to come to one of my talks in person to ask me a question. Except we also answer questions as part of the Daily Stoic New Year New.

[Daily Stoic Announcer]

You Challenge, which kicked off today.

[Ryan Holiday]

You are listening to this on the first day of 2026. I hope it's off to a good start. If you want to jump in to the Daily Stoic New Year New you challenge, you can still do that. It'[e-mail] challenge and we have our first Q and A, I think, coming up in a few days. So you can ask me questions about stoicism, you can ask me questions about resolutions, you can ask me questions about anything you want. In today's Q and A episode, I'm gonna bring you some questions that we got asked in previous year's challenges and we'll get into it. But as I said, if to pop into the Q and A in a couple days, I'd love to have you join us. It's not too late to sign up for the Daily Stoic New Year New you challenge. That's Dailystoic.com challenge. We're going to kick the year off with 21 days of stoic inspired challenges. But as for me, I'm going to go get ready for this talk and meet some folks here in person. I hope you are well. Happy New Year.

I'll see you in the challenge.

[Listener]

I wanted to ask you a question, not specifically to the challenge, but like it is to about the community. And I want to know how essential it is to be a part of a community that shares my Stoic values on a daily basis.

[Ryan Holiday]

That's a good question. I mean, is it helpful and is it nice to have people that share your values, that challenge you, that make you better, that embody what you want to embody? I think so. There's something called the Scipionic Circle, which I read a little bit in Lives of the Stoics and I write about.

More in the Wisdom Book.

There was this group of Stoics in ancient Rome who would get together and they would have these sort of meetings and they would talk about these philosophical questions. And I think anyone who's ever been part of a scene of like minded thinkers or, you know, whatever it is that you do, it's wonderful. I think you do have to have a community like that. That being said, should you only be In a community with people who are like you, should you only be around people who believe and think the same things as you? No, that's probably not good either. So I think you want to cultivate a support system or a network. I don't know what you do, but I am positive there are clubs and scenes and groups and conferences of people who are doing precisely that. I'll give you, here's how I know this. I gave a talk a couple months ago in Houston, and it was the most specific group of people that I have probably ever spoken to and would not have thought existed. This was a conference, and there was like, several hundred people there. And it was. The premise of the conference was advice to doctors who own the buildings that their practices are in. And so I was like, oh, that. Like, I would have thought that was like 10 people, but clearly it was like a large group of people. And then I was like, oh, this would be interesting, right? Because these are all doctors, doctors and surgeons. And, you know, people went to medical school and have this very specific set of medical skills. But then by nature of their. Their business and the success they've had, they've come to also be landlords and real estate investors.

[Listener]

Right.

[Ryan Holiday]

And some of them are better at one thing and some of them are better at another thing, or some of them are further along in this journey than others, and they've all kind of learned these different lessons along the way, and they want to get together and share and communicate with each other. And so I guess what I'm saying is you should find what that scene is for you and you should be a part of it. Whether it's exactly stoic or not to me, is less important than finding people who do what you do and make you better at it.

[Listener]

Sounds great. Thank you so much.

[Ryan Holiday]

Yeah, love it.

[Listener]

Hi, Ryan. Can you hear me?

[Ryan Holiday]

I can.

[Listener]

It's my second time joining the New Year New you at Challenge.

[Ryan Holiday]

What brought you back?

[Listener]

For me, it was very, very uplifting. I think all the comments and the chats are very insightful and it gives you more depth thinking about things that are not obvious to yourself. But experience from all the people over the world makes you think more deeply about things. So this, yeah, for me, this is very nice.

[Daily Stoic Announcer]

That's great to hear.

[Ryan Holiday]

We're so glad to have you back.

[Listener]

And my question is, if I. If I look at stoicism, I always get the impression that it is focused on getting structure in your life and a purpose in your life. If I look at items like creativity and. And coming up with new ideas. I often think, and I'm looking purely at my life, that I need chaos and I need unstructured think things to come up with creativity. So for me, it's. It's always a little bit a kind of idea. Is there a kind of combination I can make with creativity and stoicism, or are they really opposite, Opposite things? So what's your. What's your take on this?

[Ryan Holiday]

Well, look, many of the Stoics were artists and artistic. I mean, even Marx Trulius Meditations, I would say, is for such an ordered and disciplined person, you know, sort of a beautiful, chaotic work of art. Seneca writes these plays.

There have been Stoics who have been.

Painters, Stoics who have been playwrights, Stoics who have been musicians. And there are people doing all those things today also. So I certainly don't think Stoicism is at odds with creativity. But I go to what I was saying earlier, which is I agree with the work needs inspiration, and it needs freedom and play and a little bit of chaos at the same time. If your life is absorbed by those things, I think it saps your energy, I think it saps your focus. It actually takes away from the freedom you need to do and be those things. So when you're saying you need unstructured time, I would agree with. But if all of your time is unstructured, then you don't have unstructured time to do that stuff. I think you need to structure in having that. Because also, as much as we like to think of great works of art being the result of sort of stream of consciousness, they stayed up all night and did. No, most work is actually much more methodical. And certainly the polishing and the refining and the finalizing of work is very different than the kind of raw, creative place of work also. So I do think it's a tension. I think it's both. But I certainly don't think stoicism is at odds with that in any way.

[Listener]

Okay, thank you very much.

[Ryan Holiday]

Yeah, great.

[Listener]

Hello, Ryan, how are you? Thank you.

[Ryan Holiday]

I'm doing great.

[Listener]

So I always wanted to ask you a question around social media, because I'm like 22 years old and I'm a entrepreneur and I'm trying to create. But then it's like always this question of should I create content or not? Because honestly, been there creating content for a year or two, and it's amazing and it goes well, but I feel super distracted and all of the virtues I cannot practice. It's so much harder when you're out there. And on the other side through 2024, I was basically without social media for the whole year. Yeah, I'm feeling so good. Courage, wisdom, justice, everything's going right. I've made more money ever before. So I'm like, okay, for 2025, should I create in social media? So it's a hard question. I haven't found really wisdom on that answer, and that's why I'm bringing it up here.

[Ryan Holiday]

No, it's a great question. I think about this a lot because obviously my work has spread through social media. I've had friendships, I've developed from social media. Maybe many of you get value out.

Of what we do in daily stoke.

On social media or that might even be how you discovered our stuff. These algorithms are extremely popular and it's also extremely powerful. And it's also how people discover things today. It would be wonderful if you could just go off in the cave and write a book or start have a business idea and then it would just magically find, you know, its people. It's not. That being said, I. I do think spending a lot of time on these platforms fights for the resources needed to make great stu and it's also toxic and it breaks your brain. I think Elon Musk is a great example of someone who's just showing us in real time what social media algorithms.

Can do to a really smart person's.

Brain, which is to say they can break it. It can become a massive distraction and have enormous consequences, not just for you, but for the world. So I spend a lot of time making stuff for social media and I spend very little time on social media. So I see them as communication, I see them as broadcast platforms as opposed to back and forth. If I want to have a back and forth, if I want to engage, if I want to get feedback or information, I want to do that with people I actually know or people I actually care about. And I want to do it in a contained way. I don't want to get feedback from millions of people who, I don't know, who might not even be real. So I spent a lot of time making stuff. I was just down on the beach making some daily stoke reels. Those will go to someone to get edited and be posted. Now obviously I'm in a position where I can do that at this point in my career. At the beginning of my career, I would have been doing all this stuff myself, but I would still be uploading and scheduling as opposed to pulling up Twitter and reacting to stuff. All the dumb things that I've ever said on social media, have been in real time, like, on an app, which is why I don't really have the apps on my devices anymore. So I think using the stuff is great, but having the discipline and the boundaries to not be controlled by them is really important.

[Listener]

Thank you, Ryan. That's really helpful. I appreciate it. Quick follow up just on that.

[Ryan Holiday]

Yes.

[Listener]

Do you think in 2025, it's different what we're seeing in social media and the presence needs to be there, or is it just like your ego trying to get there?

[Ryan Holiday]

Both.

I mean, I do think you have to have a presence. I think this is how you engage and connect with people. It's also, you know, one of the ways that I connect with people, like my DMs or my messages, is a. Is like texts. You know, it's like how you connect with people. So I do think it's important. I just. You've got to make sure that you're using it as opposed to it using you.

[Listener]

Okay. Ryan, this is my first go at this challenge. It seems like you are very, very well organized in your day. Like, you know, for the first hour, you don't even touch your phone and whatnot. And then you do your walk with kids, and then you do your two hours of your concentrated work, and it seemed very organized. Now, do you just naturally know, okay, now it's time to move on to the next and move on? Or do you physically time it somehow, or.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

Oh, that's a good question.

[Ryan Holiday]

I do have kind of a rhythm, a sense of when to move on from the next project. I'm. I'm a big believer in noticing diminishing returns. So, like, I don't write exactly for this amount of time, but I write until it's kind of stopped working, and then I moved to the next thing. So that's kind of how I think about it. I just kind of have these periods where this is what I'm supposed to be doing for this, you know, for this amount of time. And if it's really still working and I'm getting a lot of traction, it's going, I might extend it. And if I'm just pounding my head against the wall, I might. I might wind it down early. So that's kind of how I think about that. And I would say also, even with the routine itself, it changes and evolves. You know, my kids are older, they.

Go to different schools.

Some parts of it have changed. Other times, you know, like, I think about it as seasons, you know, how I structure my day is a little bit different when there's a lot more daylight than there is when there's very little daylight. You know, I kind of move it through seasonally as well. So I, I, I think again, when we're talking about ranges, having a routine, having structure is great, but you also have to have the flexibility to be able to, you know, make that work for the moment of time that you're in.

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 million people have downloaded these episodes in.

The couple years we've been doing it.

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

I just wanted to say thank you.

[Sponsor/Ad Reader]

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