The Stockdale Paradox
James Stockdale was held as a prisoner of war in the Hoa Lo Vietnamese POW camp for seven years. Locked in leg irons in a bath stall, he was routinely tortured and beaten. In the book Good to Great, James C. Collins interviewed Stockdale about his coping strategy during his years in the camp.
“I never lost faith in the end of the story, I never doubted not only that I would get out, but also that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining moment of my life, which, in retrospect, I would not trade.”
When Collins asked who didn’t make it out, Stockdale replied:
“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 go. Then they would 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.”
Witnessing this philosophy of duality, Collins went on to describe it as the Stockdale Paradox
“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 may be.”
How can you adopt the Stockdale Paradox as part of your mindset?
How can you use this concept daily?
Leave your comments / ideas in the comment section of the blog!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I read "Good to Great" a few years ago. The Stockdale Paradox defines faith to the endth degree and gives depth to the word faith not optimism.
Post a Comment