”Basically, being comfortable is dangerous. If you’re not asking questions and trying to figure out more about life, are you really living?” ~ Jimmy Hatch
James Hatch spent 26 years in military service, 22 of them as a Navy SEAL.
His military career ended in 2009 when he was severely injured, his life saved by his teammates and their working dog. That marked the beginning of a long and challenging recovery that included multiple surgeries and mental health struggles.
In 2019, at age 52, Jimmy enrolled as Yale University’s oldest freshman ever.
Now, as a Yale graduate, he tries to bridge the growing divide between the two worlds that have shaped him.
We talked about curiosity as a kind of courage, what academics and the military share and might learn from one another, why Yale isn’t so unlike a Special Operations unit, the consequences of poor preparation, how literature helps us understand the “human terrain”, that perspective matters — and why being comfortable with discomfort is essential for our survival.
He might have offered my favorite description of curiosity yet: curiosity is the thing that drives you to figure out who you really are.
My goal is that students will walk out of there knowing that they have a lot of courage already. They’ve already exhibited it. And also knowing that before we judge, we really need to understand a lot more about the situations. And, with words like courage and honor and duty, what do they create? What do they obligate one to? Who’s in charge of what those things mean?
Listen to #314: ”Curiosity is the thing that drives you to figure out who you really are,” with Jimmy Hatch
Jimmy Hatch teaches at Yale’s Jackson School Global Affairs and works in the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. He founded Spike’s K9 Fund, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the welfare of working K9s, honoring the loyalty and courage of his canine comrades – and co-authored Touching the Dragon and Other Techniques for Surviving Life’s Wars, sharing insights on resilience and recovery.
For entry to his class on courage, Jimmy asks, “If this class were a small unit heading into a moral ambush, what reason would I have to believe you’d fight fiercely instead of hiding behind the whiteboard and your fellows?”
Listen to Jimmy’s podcast The Ivy League Insurgent.
If you enjoyed this conversation, try these C2BC Classics: Curiosity in Combat, with Chris Kolenda; Curiosity & the World Peace Game, with John Hunter; Celebrating Curiosity & Civil Service, with Mikel Herrington; Curiosity, Stories & Belonging, with Kiran Singh Sirah; and Wrestling with Questions, with Ken Woodward.
Theme music by Sean Balick; “Come As You Are” by Cauldron, via Blue Dot Sessions.
You can subscribe to Choose to Be Curious on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
