I spend time with him noticing all the wonderful and special things about him even his disability. I read the article and was reading through the comments and wanted to let you know that I agree with you. He has always gone out of his way to include our family in the process of portraying Dad’s experience – a rarity in our world – a man of authentic integrity.)) I’ve been very lucky all my life, never having to deal with anything like that. I really appreciate your writing style. Your humor is also much appreciated!.. I can’t respond with intelligence after reading that! door handle of the emergency exits. The paradox comes up time and again as one piece of the wisdom you glean when enduring such treatment. Like I said, be very careful with those labels lest you make a rod for your own b_ack’nowledgement, and the backs of others too…and they’re very likely to get their backs up in the process! Believe me I know it is sad to have to change or lose your dreams but keeping an open mind about coming up with new dream in life that can bring you great joy and peace in disappointing and trying times in life. in their entirety, all in one place, I got a whiff of possibility for the first The Stockdale Paradox. i want to be completely optimistic – to fully believe in the favorable outcome; and completely realistic – to fully see the situation as it now is. The Stockdale Paradox Is An Amazing Reality Of Personal Strength Good to Great is a fantastic book, definetly one of my favorites. Understanding the Stockdale Paradox - Friday Forward (#224) In his landmark leadership book Good to Great, Jim Collins, a brilliant business thinker, examined what separates the most successful, enduring organizations from others. Comment document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a608838b4ca9aaa76a6ba72ddb1b76f2" );document.getElementById("i40e9bff7f").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); Neil, I love Admiral Stockdale, too, and the book Good to Great. Thanks for thinking enough of Dad to include this material. encircled myself with wagons of talented humans and was no longer shy about Collins asked Stockdale about how he persevered while in Vietnam. One of the parts that stood out to me was the Stockdale Paradox. You’d have to make deals with banks. They preferred the ostrich approach, sticking their heads in the sand and hoping for the difficulties to go away. The list goes on and on of the things I’ve had to overcome in my life including divorce to a man I loved more than my own life and then of late, breast cancer so bad that I could see the tumor that just showed up all of a sudden. So you need to embrace the second half of the Stockdale Paradox to really make strides with your online business. And yet, as Stockdale revealed in Good to Great, he never lost faith during his ordeal: “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 event of my life, which, in retrospect, I would not trade.”. We then switched books and found out how overlapping these two books were – eventhough their subjects don’t seem to have much in common. Interestingly enough, when Jim Collins came to actually writing the chapter about the paradox (around 2001 or 2?) While Stockdale had remarkable faith in the unknowable, he noted that it was always the most optimistic of his prison mates who failed to make it out of there alive. If you ever have a chance, read the first 25 pages of the book “Darkness at Noon” published over 70 years ago – and there you’ll see it memorialized – as Rubashov, a newly accused prisoner, alludes to the almost constant quiet tapping sound that travelled through the plumbing in his cellblock. Then they’d say, ‘We’re going to be out by Easter.’ And Easter would come, and Easter would go. You say you have applied this philosophy to your life for the past 5 years and as a result, you have become a better person. Raw, frightened, but clear minded and Oddly, once I saw the scope of my challenges The name refers to Admiral Jim Stockdale, who was the highest-ranking United States military office in the “Hanoi Hilton” prisoner-of-war camp during the height of the Vietnam War. It is recognition of both strength and weakness; an interest in building the best as well as repairing the worst; and a concern for finding self fulfillment as well as serving the community. The Stockdale paradox brings light to the devastation and sorrow that persistent hope without the balance of real facts and can bring to people experiencing a pandemic. In 1976, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroism. That company is Stripe, the online payments powerhouse that disrupted an entire industry. And the fact that you will prevail in the end, because you're taking steps to last out the journey, no matter how long and difficult. And then Thanksgiving, and then it would be Christmas again. Should be working, yes. But here’s the thing – NO ONE was taught that code in survival school (weekend workups of what prison could feel like). The Stockdale Paradox. Das Stockdale-Paradoxon kann dir intensiv dabei helfen, schwierige Zeiten zu überstehen, ganz egal, ob es eine private, berufliche oder gesellschaftliche Krise ist. I had categories for finances, business, legal, research, housing, and the one I have experienced that myself a lot of times . During the Vietnam War, James Stockdale spent seven years as a prisoner of war in the infamous “Hanoi Hilton” prison camp. Stockdale and the Stockdale Paradox. Cheers! He was diagnosed with Autism, which we believe, after much research, was a result of required booster injections he received. “I love your email newsletter, it is by far the best newsletter I receive and certainly the most value I receive from anyone. Let’s offer our gifts to the collective. How understanding the paradox can help you succeed with your online business. could move into problem-solving mode. Their problem lay in the fact that their life jackets would not remain buoyant indefintely, and would eventually become waterlogged, so they would then, after having suffered hypothermia for ages, eventually meet Davy Jones in his locker, in not first taken by sharks. It is great to know about your wonderful journey with great courage anyway. The Stockdale Paradox. I hope when you are finished reading this you are encouraged and hope is returned to you. onto paper. Oh, they were the ones who said, I I agree about the three circles. But optimism on its own can be a dangerous thing: There’s no difference between a pessimist who says, “Oh, it’s hopeless, so don’t bother doing anything,” and an optimist who says, “Don’t bother doing anything, it’s going to turn out fine anyway.” Either way, nothing happens. I don’t plan anything. Excellent! Rational optimists are realists, but their defining point of difference is that they don’t give up on themselves. Of course I meant I bookmarked your blog. he wanted to be in touch with Dad so he could get it as right as he could. It could be possible that your medical condition does not need to be permanent. eBiz Facts is reader-supported. I made a vow to craft my desired future into becoming reality and to never forget the lessons of abject fear, worry, and profound uncertainty. It sounds like you’re tackling it with a great attitude though. Rational optimists believe that they can and will make progress by pursing a bold, but sensible, approach. Everything in my life was a swirly, Hey Jim, I have been trying the link to your blog, I have had no success. I happened to know about Stockdale paradox while searching wonderful idea to share with my friends. During the war in Vietnam, United States Navy officer Jim Stockdale was the highest ranked prisoner in the infamous Hỏa Lò Prison, a Hanoi prisoner-of-war camp. aside. I knew the book held important clues. • Terms & Conditions • Privacy Policy. He has been through a ton of therapy and goes to a wonderful preschool for special needs kids that has brought him a long way. I feel grateful but awful to put them through this so long and not be on my feet. Even the Cyrillic alphabet could be put in a logical 5 by 5 box allowing even the most isolated political prisoners to converse and stay up to speed on expectations or orders. I’m sorry, Carly, about what is happening to you with your health. 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.”. The paradox is that optimism may seem to be the right way, but it's a bit of a sugar rush. The Stockdale Paradox is named after Admiral James Stockdale, one of the most decorated US Navy Officers, who received the Medal of Honour in The Vietnam War after being a POW for 8 years with no release date. Perhaps I will just launch in: Jim Stockdale’s Story. Plus there are probably all sorts of regulations to comply with. I prefer to go with the flow adapting to the situation and changing it when I can. And he sent intelligence information to his wife, hidden in the seemingly innocent letters he wrote. with me, it made my hair stand on end. It’s just mind blowing! The treatments that fixed me also made me very sick and destroyed my immune system, energy and other things in my body. I know you can not change your situation, Carly, and it is devastating to the way you envisioned your life, but if you can find something that brings you immense joy, like my grandbaby does me, that will make all the difference in the world. Seems I’ve been gone from life for the last 4 years and when I came back everything was different. Let’s shed denial and embrace clear vision of next steps. It was a good start. It’s been hard to catch up. Optimism was the emotional equivalent of free money. Resources, The Stockdale Paradox Chapter 4, pages 83–85 The name refers to Admiral Jim Stockdale, who was the highest ranking United States military officer in the “Hanoi Hilton” prisoner-of-war camp during the height of the Vietnam War. It is loaded with a lot of great content on leadership and strategies for success. But I have now. Good for you. Don’t ever confuse “begs the question” with “raises the question”, as they are two entirely different concepts. I Currently I still do not have a job, car or money. This is similar to the concept of being a Rational Optimist. so forth…how on earth did he deal with it…?”, When Collins asked that very question directly He created a tapping code so they could communicate with each other. Our minds will threaten to run off without us, If you follow (or at least try to attempt) to follow this quote, believe me, you will be ready to deal with adversity no matter what the circumstances are, but more importantly, with a stable mindset. out in front of me. impossible to overcome. in this way i am neither clouded in my bare-realities assessment of the situation by some kind of rosy hopefulness; nor am i deterred in my positive belief by nagging doubt. The seminar remains over-enrolled to this day. Though hope is supposed to be this uplifting feeling, it's often experienced as an irritant or a buzzkill. This paradox is big hope for them. JS2. Collins notes, “It just seemed so bleak—the uncertainty of his fate, the brutality of his captors, and so forth…how on earth did he deal with it…?” paths to pursue, and odd synchronicities began to appear. Uniquely, while taking the survival school classroom lecture/Q&A, an Air Force pilot named Smitty Harris approached the speaker and was asking a question or two when (almost suddenly) the speaker started to describe this ‘tap code’ that’s been used for a long time in American (and other) domestic prisons allowing the inmates to communicate. I think that is what makes the difference. A lot of the themes from ‘Good to Great’ have a great effect on my daily life now – a truly marvellous book; not only for companies, but also on a personal level. While my friend was reading ‘Good to Great’, I was reading a philosophical book about the benefit of doubt and how philosophy can enrich your day-to-day life. Print. It absolutely wants to make be a better human. Acknowledging the reality of a situation/giving in to infinite resignment/still believing truly things will work out in the grand scheme based on faith of it happening.