Coaching Blog – Bounce Back Stronger: Resilience Principles from the POW Experience
It is said that true resilience isn���t about avoiding hardship���it���s about rising each time we fall, stronger and wiser than before. Setbacks are setups in disguise; every challenge faced is a step closer to who you���re meant to become.
One critical element of a leadership resilience mindset and spirit is the tenacity to bounce back (repeatedly and often if needed). This gives every leader the capacity to endure tough times whether they include physical, mental, or emotional challenges.
This coaching clip expands on this idea. Please watch, and then continue reading the blog below ���
How the POWs Bounced Back
As I mentioned in our previous Resilience Series coaching blogs, most of the POWs who were held by the North Vietnamese communists endured five to eight years. Our lives were highlighted in the early years of incarceration by suffering, torture, isolation, and sorrow. But after our release in 1973, we returned home healthy and happy.
52 years later, the data shows that we are outliving our peers and have very successful lives*���so much so that several psychologists have done studies to determine why and how we were so resilient.
The reality is that life is always a battle on some level, and everyone is going to get ���knocked down��� and must bounce back. Most of the Vietnam POWs were shot down and captured by the enemy, and fortunately our prison camp culture became resilient.
The Principles of Bouncing Back
Here are some values, beliefs and behaviors that nurtured and sustained our resilience ���
COURAGE ��� To keep your commitments that are foundations of resilience, you must have courage. Some people have more courage in some areas than others, but you must do your best. It���s absolutely crucial to live up to the challenges of life and stay positive, which is essential to being resilient and bounce back. Download our free Courage Card that highlights this Courage Challenge:
���Lean into the pain of your doubts and fears to do what you know is right, even when it doesn���t feel natural or safe.��� [Tweet This]
COMMITMENT����� Keep your commitments to your character, your duty, and to others. We were committed to the Military Code of Conduct which has six items that are focused on being faithful to our country, resisting our enemy, leading or following as appropriate, and staying faithful to our fellow POWs. We suffered to do our best to live up to this code. This was a commitment that brought suffering in the short term but has been a blessing to all over the long term because it helped us believe in ourselves and bounce back.
COMMUNITY ��� Stay connected to others. That was so important that we would risk torture to reach out to the POWs in isolation. When you are connected with others to encourage them, you send rays of love to the heart and the emotions. That���s powerful for resilience when they are suffering and facing tough times.
STAY POSITIVE ��� Almost all the POWs believed that someday we would go home. Even when times were very tough, we kept our mind on the many blessings of returning to our country and family and friends. When you are negative, it undermines your mental health and even your physical health.
One of the research papers about the Vietnam POWs concluded that the most important attribute for our survival and return so healthy was that we stayed positive.
BOUNCE BACK ��� The four items above (and our faith) gave us determination to live up to our mission to serve honorably and bounce back again and again. Download a free copy of the chapter on Bouncing Back from my book, Leading with Honor.
At the core of bouncing back is still the foundation of believing in yourself. Life is pretty much like the the famous Henry Ford once said:
���Whether you think you can or think you can���t, you���re right.��� [Tweet This]��
*The average of those who were POWs 5-8 years is 86 and 25% of them are age 90 or older.
LE [Tweet This]
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