Why being an optimist isn't enough in 2021

With 2020 soon behind us, many people may be feeling optimistic about the future. “We’ll have a COVID vaccine soon! 2021 is going to be better!” And while having those positive and optimistic thoughts are great and should be encouraged, they aren’t enough.

For 2021 we can all learn from Jim Stockdale.

He was a US naval pilot who was shot down and then held prisoner at the infamous “Hanoi Hilton” during the Vietnam war. He was held there for eight long years. He endured terrible conditions including being regularly physically tortured.

But when he was finally released, he was psychologically intact. He got on with his life quickly and in fact turned the experience into one that was a defining event in his life. He even went as far to say that he wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. How can those thoughts even be possible?

Jim Stockdale wasn’t just optimistic and positive, he had something else. He was also a realist with a strong sense of perspective.

When asked about the other prisoners who didn’t fare as well psychologically, his response was that they were the optimists. They were the ones who said “we’ll be out by Christmas!” And then Christmas would come and go. Then they’d say “we’ll be out by Easter!” And then Easter would come and go. Months went by, years went by, and their optimism slowly and surely faded until they had nothing left.

Jim Stockdale was an optimist but he also had that internal sense of power knowing that he would endure whatever happened. He had perspective.

We don’t know what 2021 will be like.

Will our lives ever be the same again? When can we travel? Will my job ever be safe? Will my business survive another pandemic? What would I do if I, or one of my loved ones, got sick?

What we know is that being an optimistic isn’t enough. Hoping it’ll be okay, isn’t enough. Crossing our fingers definitely won’t change the future.

What we can do is be optimistic as well as manage our thinking and respond to whatever unfolds with a belief in ourselves to cope. Belief in ourselves that we can find new ways of being creative, kind, and positive. We can learn something new. We can become explorers of ourselves and of others. We can practice perspective. We can reflect instead of ruminate when plans don’t unfold as expected.

How are you going to show up in 2021?