It's Important to Learn How to Take Abuse Sometimes

Disclaimer: Of course there are certain types of abuse that should never be tolerated and should be reported to authorities. The statements below are from James Stockdale, who was a Vietnam prisoner of war for 7.5 years, on lessons learned from taking that brutal abuse.

"For what it is worth, I learned the merits of men having taken the physical abuse of body contact in sports. It is a very important experience; you have to practice hurting. There is no question about it.

"Second, survival school was based on taking mental harassment...I hope we do not ever dilute those things. You have to practice being hazed. You have to learn to take a bunch of junk and accept it with a sense of humor." (p. 8)