James Stockdale and the Power of Realistic Optimism

James Stockdale spent over seven years as a prisoner of war and credited Stoicism with getting him through. What he noticed there became the Stockdale Paradox: the people who broke first were the optimists, the ones who kept saying they would be home by Christmas. In this short lesson I look at why realistic optimism beats the cheerful kind, and what that means for facing anything hard.This is the first in a series of short lessons on my favourite Stoic figures, ancient and modern.Free 7-Day Stoic Challenge: stoicchallenge.coThe Stoic Vault: stoicvault.com