In 1965, a 40-year old Navy pilot by the name of James Stockdale was flying behind enemy lines in Vietnam when he was shot down.

Luckily, he was able to eject and parachute to the ground before he crashed, but not before North Vietnamese forces surrounded and captured him as a prisoner of war.

He was sent to a prison called "Hanoi Hilton.” Famously known amongst American forces as one of the most brutal confinement’s made. There, prisoners were tortured, starved, and isolated as a way to force them to give up allegiance to the U.S. or give up valuable secrets.

At this point, the Vietnam War had been going on since 1955 and it wasn’t uncommon for American prisoners to be held captive for five or more years. James knew he was here for the long-run.

Most people in his situation would’ve immediately given up hope. There were even some accounts of service members taking their own lives because the reality of being tortured for years on end was just too much to bear.

But James had something that was going to help him get through this.

It wasn’t a weapon or a means to escape: It was the teachings he learned by Epictetus, an ancient Stoic philosopher.

Before the war, James was fascinated by the idea of Stoicism and the core principle of how we can’t control what happens to us, only how we react.

He carried this lesson for years and contributed it to his survival in Hanoi Hilton. Whenever he was being tortured or starved, he would tell himself, “They can hurt me, but they can’t take away my will.”

In other words, he couldn’t control what was happening to him, but that didn’t stop him from having an optimistic view on getting out of there.

And he didn’t keep this mentality to himself. He eventually became a type of leader to the other prisoners. Creating secret codes to communicate with them and would even lift their spirits by teaching them Stoicism.

At one point during his captivity, the Vietnamese tried to use him in their propaganda, so James repeatedly slammed his head against the cell wall as a way to disfigure his face so they couldn’t show him on camera as a “healthy, willing” prisoner.

Seven years later, the Paris Peace Accord was signed on January 27, 1973. This agreement was one of the steps we took to establish peace in Vietnam as well as ordering the release of American prisoners of war.

And in March 1973, James and hundreds of other POWs were flown back to the United States as part of a mass return operation known as Operation Homecoming. The end to their seven-year captivity.

James would go on to write a book sharing his experience and acknowledge how Stoicism saved his life.

Stoicism isn’t just a bunch of quotes on self-development. It’s a collection of teachings that some of the worlds most influential leaders have attributed their success to from Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, Nelson Mandela, and Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Whether you’re experiencing anxiety in modern times or you’re being overcome by some relentless fear, Stoicism is there for those who wish to overcome those obstacles with grace, courage, and optimism.

Dive Deeper

What I’m Currently Reading - I’m now reading The Compleat Gentleman by Brad Miner. The modern man’s guide to ancient chivalry.

Quote Of The Week - “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” — Henry David Thoreau