@rumak I came across this story today and it really struck a chord. IMO Admiral James Stockdale nails it. On September 9th, 1965, Adm James Stockdale was shot down over North Vietnam, and spent the next seven and a half years as a "guest" of the infamous "Hanoi Hilton." Years later, during an interview about Stockdale's coping strategy during that time, Jim Collins asked him which prisoners didn't make it. Here's what he had to say: "Oh, that's easy, the optimists. Oh, they were the ones who said, "We're going to be out by Christmas". And Christmas would come, and Christmas would go. Then they'd say, "We're going to be out by Easter". And Easter would come, and Easter would go. And then Thanksgiving, and then it would be Christmas again. And they died of a broken heart." There is an important lesson here. It has become known as "The Stockdale Paradox." Stockdale went on to say: "You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end, which you can never afford to lose, with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be."
Create an account or sign in to comment