https://t.co/ZGpQ2ZIIer
9. Stockdale Paradox:
The optimal state of mind is neither optimism, which leaves you unprepared for adversity, nor pessimism, which destroys motivation, but optimistic pessimism: by preparing for the worst outcomes, you increase confidence in dealing with any outcome, and thus, you increase hope.
The optimal state of mind is neither optimism, which leaves you unprepared for adversity, nor pessimism, which destroys motivation, but optimistic pessimism: by preparing for the worst outcomes, you increase confidence in dealing with any outcome, and thus, you increase hope.
Perhaps there is a way through pessimism that leads to an adapted and more reasonable optimism—not the sort of delusional optimism that is ignorant to the somber truths of our condition, but rather, an optimism that exists in spite of it all.
Robert Pantano • The Art of Living a Meaningless Existence: Ideas from Philosophy That Change the Way You Think
Optimism through a lifetime of misery isn’t luck or delusion. It's discipline disguised as temperament, paid for in a thousand grueling moments when they strangled their own knee-jerk pessimism.