 “We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.”
― Viktor E. Frankl When I was young boy, bugged by numerous questions, my father suggested that I look around. His admonition to me was “You can always find a book that has the answers you are looking for”. I am yet to prove my father wrong. Dr Viktor Frankl’s “Man Search for Meaning was one such book. A survivor of the Holocaust, Dr Viktor Frankl, a Viennese psychiatrist from the tradition of Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler, focused on suicides and I have read that book several times and I always get different and deeper answers. Dr Viktor Frankl suggests that we can discover the meaning of life in three different ways:
“It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life—daily and hourly. Our answer must consist, not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual.” Inventor of Logotherapy (logos = “meaning” in Greek) – Dr Frankl asked the most depressed patients he encountered a seemingly simple six word question… ”Why do you not commit suicide?” From here, Dr Frankl explored how his patient actually found joy in, what made their life worth living … in other words, what the meaning was in their life. Once that discovery was made, he could start helping them to improve their mental health and to move away from thoughts of suicide. Three key questions for you to explore
What is your purpose in life? Check out the Venn Diagram on top (Graphic from https://blogs.nasa.gov/womenatnasa/). Write or discuss with a loved one - friend, family or even a stranger!
Additional resources Adam Leipzig has figured out that it takes five questions in under five minutes to discover what you are meant to do with your life. Check out this TEDx talk https://www.goodnet.org/articles/ted-talk-week-your-life-purpose-in-5-minutes Oprah Website . If you're struggling with the question "Who am I meant to be?", this quiz can help you figure out what really defines you. Based on personality science, I have identified seven "striving styles," modes of thought and behavior that direct us to seek satisfaction in different ways. https://www.oprah.com/inspiration/who-are-you-meant-to-be-self-assessment-quiz_1 Stephen Pressfield's interview by Oprah - a 4 minute video on "4 Questions to Find Your Calling" www.huffpost.com/entry/steven-pressfield-oprah_n_4004741 Greater Good Website: How strong is your sense of purpose? To find out—and discover steps for strengthening it—take this quiz, which is primarily based on the Claremont Purpose Scale developed by psychologists Kendall Bronk, Brian Riches, and Susan Mangan. When you're done, you'll get your score, learn more about the benefits of purpose, and find resources for identifying and cultivating your own life goals. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/quizzes/take_quiz/purpose_in_life Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl One of the ten most influential books in America. —Library of Congress/Book-of-the-Month Club "Survey of Lifetime Readers" It is just 200 pages long and you can read it multiple times. Who Was Viktor Frankl? Jewish Biography as History Dr. Henry Abramson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axXsz2TVoAw Nice biography/Summary https://biographics.org/viktor-frankl-biography-life-search-meaning/ Other Dr K’s favorite Viktor Frankl quotes “When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” “Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible.” “It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life—daily and hourly. Our answer must consist, not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual.” “In some ways suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of a sacrifice.” “I do not forget any good deed done to me & I do not carry a grudge for a bad one.” “For the first time in my life I saw the truth as it is set into song by so many poets, proclaimed as the final wisdom by so many thinkers. The truth - that Love is the ultimate and highest goal to which man can aspire. Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love.”
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