The Stockdale Paradox

 

The Stockdale Paradox is named after admiral Jim Stockdale, a US military officer held captive for 8 years during the Vietnam War. He was tortured and never had much reason to believe he would survive the prison camp. And yet, as Stockdale told one journalist, 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.”

Then comes the paradox: While Stockdale had remarkable faith in the unknowable, he noted that it was always the least optimistic of his prison-mates who failed to make it out of there alive. “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.”

They failed to confront the reality of their situation. They preferred the ostrich approach, sticking their heads in the sand and hoping for the difficulties to go away. That self-delusion might have made it easier on them in the short-term, but when they were eventually forced to face reality, they couldn’t handle it.

Jim Stockdale approached adversity with a very different mindset. He accepted the reality of his situation. He knew he was in inferno but he stepped up and did everything he could to lift his and other prisoners’ morale. He created a tapping code so they could communicate with each other and helped them deal with torture. His heroism was portrayed in “Missing in Action”, a movie with Chuck Norris.

Stockdale Paradox: You must retain faith that you will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties. And at the same time, you must confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be. Don’t lie to yourself for fear of short-term embarrassment or discomfort, because such deception will only come back to defeat you in the end. Always look at the broader picture 

Do you know that the Stockdale Paradox can be applied to eschatology as well? Matthew 24:13. Let me know your conclusion.