The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living

The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living is a 2016 self-help book by American author Ryan Holiday, with translated quotations provided by Stephen Hanselman. In this work, Holiday offers readers a year’s worth of daily devotionals based on works by major Stoic philosophers such as Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, and Seneca. The author begins each devotional with a quotation, which he further explains and elaborates on in a brief analysis. The author often emphasizes Stoicism’s applicability to modern life and lauds its themes of self-discipline, emotional clarity and neutrality, and working for the common good. Holiday explains that the goal of his work is to make Stoic philosophy accessible to modern readers and to encourage people to put Stoic advice into practice in their everyday lives, since it is meant to be lived and not just studied.

This guide refers to the 2016 Kindle edition of this The Daily Stoic.

Summary

Holiday separates his book into three parts, each containing four months of the year. Part 1 provides daily devotionals for each day of January, February, March, and April. In a brief overview of Stoicism, Holiday explains that the philosophy was founded in ancient Greece and teaches that virtue encompasses four traits: courage, self-control, wisdom, and justice. The Stoics believe that people will only experience true contentment if they embrace and embody these virtues. Ancient Roman Stoics instead focused on ethics and logic. The Romans were most interested in developing practical solutions to the question of how to live the best life. Holiday believes that Stoicism remains highly applicable to modern life.

Holiday quotes major Stoic philosophers, such as teachers Musonius Rufus and Epictetus, Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, and philosopher Seneca, to explain Stoicism’s “big three” principles: manage your perceptions, take action to benefit others and yourself, and “willingly accept” (12) the events that unfold around you.

Stoics highly value the ability to master emotions and reactions through reason. When people can inhibit negative feelings such as anger or jealousy, everyone benefits. By focusing on their personal agency and not blaming others, readers can find new solutions in personal or professional relationships. Stoics believe it is important to identify events that are outside of one’s “circle of control” (44) and learn to not react emotionally to such events, since they are impossible to change.

Holiday emphasizes that readers should hone their decision-making and reflect on how to improve everyday life. He urges readers to examine their habits and seemingly small choices, pointing to social media, gossip, and bad food as typical everyday bad habits readers could try to conquer through discipline. Stoics highly value actions that support the common good. Holiday encourages readers to consider how their actions may affect others, and notes that mastering one’s own emotions includes becoming more forgiving and resilient to criticism. Another main facet of Stoicism is resisting indulgence. The Stoic solution for unmet desires is to learn to desire less; building character leads to avoiding persistent greed.

In Part 2, Holiday quotes Musonius Rufus’s Lectures, which emphasizes the need to reject superficial beauty, and refers to Epictetus's teachings on beauty to encourage readers to reject superficial standards and focus on their inner life. Stoics teach that arguments rarely solve problems, and should be avoided lest they harm wellbeing and productivity. Stoics consider forgiveness a kind and practical way to repair relationships. Another draining emotional problem is excessive worry, which Stoics discourage, since anxiety cannot prevent unfortunate events from happening, and so causes needless stress.

Holiday discusses the Stoic approach to work, emphasizing the need for work that brings pleasure and purpose, without overworking. Stoics’ greatly value work that contributes to the broader community, teaching that what benefits the group will also benefit the individual. This altruistic mindset sees good deeds as “the ultimate form of self-reliance” (237) and encourages people to do whatever good actions they can, however small they may seem. Holiday stresses the cumulative magnitude of making small changes, claiming that altogether they can have a transformational effect on one’s life.

In Part 3, Holiday warns against becoming dependent on good fortune or luxuries. Readers should practice depriving themselves of nice things from time to time to decrease their dependence on them. Stoics teach that people can only achieve stability when they do not fear losing what they have. The only permanent thing people possess is their mind and ability to make choices; everything else is fleeting.

Stoics teach that discussing offending behavior constructively can help others learn from their mistakes. Marcus Aurelius encouraged people to confront others about bad actions, but warned against revenge, arguing that the best vengeance is to be more moral than one’s enemies. Holiday endorses the Stoic view that humans are inherently altruistic and are more inclined towards cooperation than violence. As such, people should use philosophy as a “tool to strip it all away—to get back to our true nature” (324) by removing their negative and selfish thoughts and actions. This advice reflects the Stoic concept of “sympatheia”—that all life on earth is interconnected and interdependent.

Holiday explains that wanting to be in control is “the most potent addiction of all” (330). The Stoics advocate decreasing one’s desires rather than praying for certain outcomes, favoring “fortitude and strength” over “divine intervention” (276).

Accepting events that are outside the circle of control is not the same as taking a passive approach to life. For example, President Roosevelt had to accept that he would live with polio, but he made the choice to learn to cope with his limitations and served as president in spite of his disability.

Holiday concludes his work by emphasizing life’s impermanence: “Every person is born with a death sentence” (358). He urges readers to feel motivated by this reality to make the most of their lives by embodying Stoicism’s virtues.