BTD Newsletter – August 2025: Resilience

Maybe your summer months will be filled with unlimited holiday joy. But if anything is getting tricky, you might want to reflect on the experiences of James Stockdale – for me, a hero, and the best exemplar of how we can manage our response to adversity through rules-based Stoic living.

"And if I were asked, "What are the benefits of a Stoic life?" I would probably say, "It is an ancient and honourable package of advice on how to stay out of the clutches of those who are trying to get you on the hook, trying to give you a feeling of obligation, trying to get moral leverage on you, to force you to bend to their will." Because I first reaped its benefits in an extortionist prison of torture, I could go on and say, "It's a formula for maintaining self-respect and dignity in defiance of those who would break your spirit for their own end."

James Stockdale, "Thoughts of a Philosophical Fighter Pilot"

As I prepare for the October launch of the new BTD programme "How to Think Like a Roman Emperor" (which includes plenty of Stockdale thinking), I am reflecting on what aspects of that (brilliant) book had the biggest impact on me, and I think it is this: how we can build resilience by linking daily practices (e.g. morning meditation, daily mindfulness and evening reflection) with short-cycle iteration of our Values.

I recently took the time to clarify my Values. The format was: What? Who? How? The What? is what I am steering towards in my life. The Who? is who make up my audiences. The How? is how I will interact with these audiences. A final section talks about the standards to which I hold myself in these interactions – what Stockdale calls the "Circle of Dignity" – everything that is simply not up for negotiation.

This is all captured in a one-pager, which sits next to my PC screen, in line of sight. It is my reference point as things come up. It is a great way of combatting external perturbations: the point is that I am on a mission, and I cannot afford to be deflected. Reminding myself of this at intervals every day provides the accountability and resilience that I need. My life is largely free of adversity, but these approaches help me neutralise any adversity swiftly when it does arise, and get quickly back to the job at hand.