| Have you ever wondered how would survive in a | | | | the Vietnam War. Tortured over 20 times during his |
| hostage situation? Being captured and held as a | | | | eight-year imprisonment from 1965 to 1973, Stockdale |
| hostage by terrorists? What would give you the will to | | | | lived out the war without any prisoner's rights, no set |
| survive and stay alive? | | | | release date, and no certainty as to whether he would |
| Make a mental list of memories, loved ones, beliefs, | | | | even survive to see his family again. |
| techniques that would keep you alive if taken hostage | | | | Stockdale had an additional challenge. As the highest |
| or a prisoner of war. In todays uncertain world there is | | | | ranking officer, he had to also help his own servicemen |
| a reasonable chance that someone we know will be | | | | survive their ordeals. He instituted rules that would help |
| one or two degrees removed from a hostage, a | | | | people to deal with torture (no one can resist torture |
| bomb blast victim or a prisoner of war (POW). | | | | indefinitely, so he created a step-wise systemafter x |
| My own grandfather was a Maori prisoner of war | | | | minutes, you can say certain thingsthat gave the men |
| during World War 2. Taken prisoner by the Germans | | | | milestones to survive toward). He instituted an |
| during the Crete campaign, he had to endure the harsh | | | | elaborate internal communications system to reduce |
| conditions as well as the humiliation of being taken | | | | the sense of isolation that their captors tried to create, |
| prisoner. A key lesson I learnt from his experiences | | | | which used a five-by-five matrix of tap codes for |
| and others was the power of the mind to transcend | | | | alpha characters. (Tap-tap equals the letter a, |
| ones physical situation. A bare cell, little food, | | | | tap-pause-tap-tap equals the letter b, |
| psychological and physical mistreatment. Reducing a | | | | tap-tap-pause-tap equals the letter f, and so forth, for |
| human being into an object of no more significance | | | | 25 letters, c doubling for k.) After his release, Stockdale |
| than a cockroach. He had to look deep within himself | | | | became the first three-star officer in the history of the |
| to endure his plight and make some sense of his | | | | US Navy to wear both aviator wings and the |
| suffering. | | | | Congressional Medal of Honor. Like many others, he |
| Other examples come to mind. | | | | lived to tell and inspire others of his POW experiences. |
| Major James Nesbeth spent seven years as a | | | | What can we learn from these prisoner of war |
| prisoner of war in North Vietnam. During those seven | | | | experiences? |
| years, he was imprisoned in a cage that was | | | | I believe it illustrates the power of our mind to |
| approximately four and one-half feet high and five long. | | | | transcend our current circumstances. We dont need to |
| During almost the entire time he was imprisoned he | | | | be a prisoner of war to learn this. We sometimes |
| saw no one, talked to no one and experience no | | | | imprison ourselves with our own fears, our own limiting |
| physical activity. In order to keep his sanity and his mind | | | | thoughts. Thoughts like: |
| active, he used the art of visualisation. | | | | - I can never be rich! |
| Everyday in his mind, he would play a game of golf. A | | | | - I will never get out of this dump! |
| full 18-hole game at his favourite green. In his mind, he | | | | - My life sucks! |
| would create the trees, the smell of the freshly | | | | - I blame my mother for my weight problem! |
| trimmed grass, the wind, the songs of the birds. He | | | | I would say to the above, toughen up and get a life. |
| created different weather conditions windy spring | | | | Weak thinking begets weak results. Feel sorry for |
| days, overcast winter days and sunny summer | | | | yourself for a moment and then get over it. This type |
| mornings. He felt the grip of the club in his hands as he | | | | of repetitive sorry thinking would create a loss of hope |
| played his shots in his mind. The set-up, the | | | | in a POW and lessen their chances of survival. |
| down-swing and the follow-through on each shot. | | | | Also we can create our own internal mind ritual that |
| Watched the ball arc down the fairway and land at | | | | we can turn into a daily mental discipline. Go inside your |
| the exact spot he had selected. All in his mind. | | | | own mind and create your desired outcomes. Live the |
| He did this seven days a week. Four hours a day. | | | | dream inside your own mind. Change it daily by adding |
| Eighteen holes. Seven years. When Major Nesbeth | | | | something new. Make it fun. Make it short or as long |
| was finally released, he found that he had cut 20 | | | | as you like. 5-10 minutes a day. |
| strokes off his golfing average without having touched | | | | I believe these inspiring prisoner of war stories shows |
| a golf club in seven years. | | | | us clearly that an enduring faith, an unyielding will to |
| Another example is Admiral Jim Stockdale, who was | | | | succeed combined with a daily mental discipline gives |
| the highest ranking United States military officer in the | | | | us the power to overcome incredible odds. |
| Hanoi Hilton prisoner-of-war camp during the height of | | | | |