BALANCE REALISM WITH OPTIMISM

“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.” says James Bond Stockdale

The Optimist or the Pessimist:

“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” says Winston Churchill

We usually categorize people into either Optimist or Pessimist. Optimist are the one who think everything is possible and always expect the best outcome. On the other hand, Pessimist are the one who keep thinking nothing good can happen in life and the outcome of every hard work will always be worst.

There is also a third category who balance Realism with Optimism. One who believe they will succeed and expects the best outcome but also take into consideration the challenges and so set a realistic goal.

In simple words, in a difficult situation, Optimist may say they will easily sail through it but a Pessimist may say they will never make it through this situation but Optimistic Realist will say they will definitely sail through but will always keep track of current reality.

The Stockdale Paradox:

The quote at the start of this article is of James Bond Stockdale a United States Navy Vice Admiral and Aviator who was awarded the Medal of Honor in the Vietnam War, during which he was a prisoner of war for over seven years.

When asked by James Collins (author of Good to Great) who didn't make it out of Vietnam, Stockdale said the Optimists who kept imagining that they will be out by Christmas or Easter or Thanksgiving, as they eventually died of a broken heart.

It simply means whether it is a difficult situation like that faced by James Stockdale or a Lifetime or Long-term Goal that you are trying to achieve, Stockdale Paradox will help in achieving success and overcoming the obstacles. It teaches to focus on the positive outcome taking into consideration the realities that needs to be dealt with.

Journey of Ernest Shackleton:

The year is 1914 and a group of 28 under the leadership of Ernest Shackleton set on an ambitious goal of landing on Antarctica and cross 1,800 miles over the entire continent. But soon the ship is stuck in ice and survival becomes the primary goal.

After the ship broke and sank, the group went through a tough journey from attempting a march to building a makeshift camp to somehow making it to an island inhabited only by penguins and seals. After which Shackleton along with 5 men reached South Georgia Island through a lot of difficulty. And it took them another 3 months to rescue the remaining men.

Journey of Dietrich Bonhoeffer:

Dietrich Bonhoeffer was a theologian and active in the German resistance to the policies of Hitler and Nazism. Due to his resistance he was denied the right to speak in public or publish any article. He got engaged in the year 1943 and unfortunately the same year he was arrested.

In prison, imagine being separated from family, work & people, trying to overcome memories of self-pity, dissatisfaction, tension & longing and the urge to do something new & change the current situation.

But unlike how Shackleton’s journey ended, Bonhoeffer was later executed at the Flossian concentration camp in 1945.

 My take on Balance Realism With Optimism:

Whether it was Stockdale, Shackleton or Bonhoeffer, I think one cannot survive such tough situations only by focusing on the positive thoughts or outcomes, one must balance it with the reality of current situation.

Same can be related to any everyday situation like you are waiting for good job offer, promotion, working on a big project which is taking time, etc. Optimism will give you power to keep going but if the goals are not set taking into consideration the realities then it will lead to draining of energy. And similarly, over thinking of your current situation (especially if it’s not in your favour) will also keep you from setting optimistic goals.

So whether it is a tough situation or any long term goal, balancing Realism With Optimism will help you keep up the motivation and at the same time will help you set realistic targets to maximize the chance of achieving success.

Any thoughts, please?

Aniket Sonar