The Daily Stoic - Hold Fast To This

Episode Date: June 17, 2022

Ryan talks about the Stockdale paradox.Sign up for the Daily Stoic email:http://DailyStoic.com/emailFollow us: Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, TikTok, and FacebookSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Hey, prime members, you can listen to the Daily Stood Podcast early and add free on Amazon Music. Download the app today. Hi, I'm David Brown, the host of Wundery's podcast business wars. And in our new season, Walmart must fight off target, the new discounter that's both savvy and fashion forward. Listen to business wars on Amazon Music or wherever you get your podcasts. on music or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to the Daily Stoic Podcast, where each day we bring you a passage of ancient wisdom designed to help you find strength, insight, and wisdom every day life. Each one of these passages is based on the 2,000-year-old philosophy that has guided some of

history's greatest men and women. For more, you can visit us dailystoweth.com. Hold fast to this. The Hanoi Hilton, where James Stockdale spent seven years under heinous conditions and near constant torture was a dark place. Death was ever present. Kindness was rare. There seemed to be no end in sight. In fact, Stockdale would say that

those who thought they saw an end in sight were the most vulnerable, because the day they prayed forward come and go, and still more pain and agony awaited them, crushed their will would depart them. And he died. And yet what propelled Stockdale? It was hope. Like the song lyrics go, he held on to hope, as it was the last thing holding him. This thanks to Jim Collins and his classic book Good to Great, has become known as the Stoctail Paradox. But it might also be called the Stoic Paradox, as it is rooted in the teachings of Epic Tidus, which Sto Stockdale was introduced to at Stanford before being shot down.

A stoic can't be naive or optimistic. They can't fix their happiness or survival on some wished-for-day in the future. I think outside of our dichotomy of control, they must be realistic. They must face, unflinchingly, the reality of their situation. But, and this is the big but.

They can also hold simultaneously, as Stockdale did, that if they manage to make it through, they will turn this experience into the defining event of their life, which in retrospect they would not trade. No one knows what the future holds. To direct our hopes and desires towards a specific outcome is to set ourselves up for disappointment. So instead, we focus our resilient and unfailing ability to transform whatever is in store for us into material. We can hope that we get lucky enough to use this, whatever it is, can turn it into flame and brightness. Smart is really throat. Nothing can break our hold on that.

Thanks so much for listening to the Daily Stoke Podcast. If you don't know this, you can get these delivered to you via email every day. Check it out at dailystoke.com slash email. Hey, prime members, you can listen to the Daily Stoic early and ad-free on Amazon Music, download the Amazon Music app today, or you can listen early and ad-free on Amazon Music, download the Amazon Music app today, or you can listen early and ad-free with Wondery Plus in Apple podcasts. Ah, the Bahamas. What if you could live in a penthouse

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