As the dust settles on the US election result, those who care about what it means for the climate may find some strength in these words from James Stockdale.

“You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end — which you can never afford to lose — with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.”

He was a U.S. prisoner tortured and held captive for over seven years during the Vietnam War. It is known as the Stockdale Paradox.

Keep faith in the future but confront reality head on. Mix outrage and optimism.