(BEFORE YOU READ: This story will discuss an account from the Holocaust as well as mental health. If you are in need of immediate mental health assistance, please call 988 OR 1-800-273-8255).
This is gonna get REAL psychological.
“The pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” – Winston Churchill.
In World War 2 we learned much about humanity. What we are capable of, both good and evil.
Some of the greatest evils this world has ever seen were performed in concentration camps. One such camp is where a solider named James Stockdale noticed something that became known as The Stockdale Paradox (coined by Jim Collins in the book “Good to Great”).
In the camp he was held in, James witnessed people go through unimaginable trials while he himself dealt with the same reality. In a concentration camp food was scarce, you didn’t know if you would live to see the next day, and you didn’t know if the you would ever be free again.
It is in this moment that James took note of the perspectives of those around him. There were pessimists, optimists, and realists.
Pessimists would go quick. There was not much hope, so what was the point.
Optimists would do really well, until the length of the expectations they had to hold were broken by time and then so were their spirits.
Realists were the people who made it to the end with James. The ones who made it to freedom and out of the oppression of the Nazi regime. The reason attributed to this is that our minds need balance. When faced with struggle, knowing the nature of the trials we face while holding out hope that better will come is what keeps us going the longest.
I share this harsh tale because we face a battle with two selves.
1) Who we strive to be.
2) Who we currently are.
In times with no stress, we are who we strive to be. We are that person who opens the door for little old ladies, we make others laugh, we shake hands and kiss babies. We are the best and we can accomplish anything!
In times of struggle, we fall down to what our minds are trained to do. We protect ourselves and begin telling stories to help us through the struggles we face.
When we find ourselves buried underneath a pile of stress. The habits we are trying to build become easy to shed. Our futures, irrelevant in the face of what seems to be all consuming.
Now, I know the audience of these emails, and I hope that we are not going through anything as horrendous as what the people in concentration camps had to go through. Chances are your stresses seem trivial compared to this.
A project due date, a bill that’s overdue, your kid deciding to take a year abroad, are all objectively trivial in the face of this story. But, your central nervous system doesn’t think so. Your mind is fully capable of stressing you out to this level all on its own.
Which finally leads me to the virtuosity of building a healthy MINDSET.
You are in complete control of 2 things in your life:
1) Your Attitude
2) Your Effort
No matter the situation. No matter the time in your life. As long as you have breath in your lungs and can think, you are in control of how you view every situation and the dedication you give to the task at hand.
If you’re currently vibing on the winds of life, practice gratitude and grounding. Take your time, make yourself happy, and be thankful for all the wonderful things you have and are building. Build up ammo in your resiliency tool belt for when you need it most.
If you’re currently struggling, you have a choice. You can be optimistic, pessimistic, or realistic. All are okay. All are natural. But, mental fitness is measured in our resiliency to our triggers. Our ability to have hope while the path may not seem easy.
To tell our selves the story that the fight towards the brighter future is always worth the effort.
And to “Keep Calm & Carry On.”
Remember, that you are never alone. If your mindset is struggling right now, we can help. If you feel your mental health is on the rocks, we also know people that can help as well.
The final pillar we talk about will be Community.
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