Book Suggestion: "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor E. Frankl
Viktor Frankl is the founder of Logotherapy, which focuses on one’s purpose in life as the central pillar for healing. “Man’s search for meaning” is his most read book.
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This was one of the books with the biggest effect on me. It is written in concise and clear English, which leads to it being short and to the point. The topic of the book has deep meaning (as the title might suggest). Viktor Frankl is the founder of Logotherapy, which is a therapeutic method. Logotherapy focuses on one’s purpose in life as the central pillar for healing. His work forms the basis for many other works, where the focus lies on finding your Why. “Man’s search for meaning” is his most read book.
Part One - Experiences in a Concentration Camp
In Part 1 (about 70% of the book) Frankl shares his own story of surviving several concentration camps and how the mindset of “meaning” helped him to live through it. Reading this part really puts your own suffering (whatever that may be) in a total new perspective. It is unbelievable to read the things he has gone through and still managed to lead a meaningful life well into his 90’s. This touched me deeply and has changed how I look at many things today and especially the factors that I use to make decisions. This part is nothing for the faint hearted, although I do believe that that what he tells us in the first part has already been censored to accommodate the modern reader.
I have decided to give you a list of quotes following below, without thoughts or explanations to it. The quotes I share are quotes that I have underlined in the book and that I like to read whenever I have hit a problem, when I feel down, when I have big decisions to make and struggle with them. Writing this list does not only make it easier for me to use them, but I hope that these powerful quotes will give you a new perspective and activate your own inner thoughts. There is no need for extra noise coming from me. So here we go and enjoy!
Quotes That Struck Me Part One:
If there is a meaning in life at all, then there must be a meaning in suffering. Suffering is an ineradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Without suffering and death human life cannot be complete.
Everywhere man is confronted with fate, with the chance of achieving something through his own sufferings.
Emotion, which is suffering, ceases to be suffering as soon as we form a clear and precise picture of it.
He who has a why to life for can bear with almost any how (Frankl quotes Nietsche)
We need to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life.
They form man’s destiny, which is different and unique for each individual. (Note: They = life’s tasks)
No situation repeats itself and each situation calls for a different response.
The immediate influence of behaviour is always more effective than that of words.
That which does not kill me makes me stronger. (Frankl quotes Nietsche)
What you have experienced, no power on earth can take from you.
Part Two - Logotherapy in a Nutshell
In Part 2 he touches on the fundamental concepts behind Logotherapy. It becomes very clear how Frankl’s therapeutic methods are a combination of philosophy and psychotherapy. Often, I find psychotherapy too focused on the problems and the analysis why things are the way they are. Yes, it is important to understand the problem to find the solution, however in many cases the problem is clear and the path towards a solution can be walked upon much earlier than it often is. There is three fundamental ways to derive meaning:
Through your work
Through your loved one
Through suffering
The first two ways to find meaning seem to be pretty straight forward, but the third is really counterintuitive. To derive meaning through your suffering seems somewhat abstract. But if you think about it, there is many happy people who have found meaning in their suffering and are now helping others to not suffer the way they have. He goes through various concepts, which form the basis for Logotherapy.
One of the most striking concepts for me was the existential vacuum, which in hindsight I have found myself suffering several times in my life so far. Essentially the existential vacuum is a feeling of emptiness and meaninglessness. This is an issue that I see many people suffering and the effects are astounding, especially when you meet people, which seem to follow a clear purpose in life. Be it a vocation, taking care of their family or any other purpose, these people beam with happiness, while the rest of us trots through life like an empty shell.
The next concept I found fascinating was that of hyper-intension. That if you wish too much for a certain thing to work or happen and focus too much on it, you will end up getting the opposite. Paradoxical intentionis a great concept to help with that, where in your mind you focus on the opposite. For example if you have a stutter you will usually focus on not stuttering, but paradoxically if you focus actively on trying to stutter on purpose, you will end up talking just fine. This can translate to wanting a promotion and essentially just means that you need to be careful not to obsess with things. The concept of focus is so much on the forefront of our society, that I see many (also myself) overfocus on things and tripping themselves up and getting the opposite. This can lead to incredible unhappiness in life.
Quotes That Struct Me Part Two:
Man’s will to meaning can also be frustrated, in which case logotherapy speaks of “existential frustration”.
Man’s search for meaning may arouse inner tension rather than inner equilibrium.
It can be seen that mental health is based on a certain degree of tension, the tension between what one has already achieved and what one still ought to accomplish. The gap between what one is and what one should become.
What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for a worthwhile goal, a freely chosen task.
The existential vacuum manifests itself mainly in a state of boredom.
“Sunday neurosis”, that kind of depression which afflicts people who become aware of the lack of content in their lives when the rush of the busy week is over and the void within themselves becomes manifest.
Live as if you were living already for the second time and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you are about to act now.
True meaning of life is to be discovered in the world rather than within man or his own psyche.
At any moment, man must decide, for better or for worse, what will be the monument of his existence.
I should say having been is the surest kind of being.
Anticipatory anxiety has to be counteracted by paradoxical intention; hyper-intention as well as hyper-reflection have to be counteracted by dereflection; dereflection, however, ultimately is not possible except by the patient’s orientation toward his specific vocation and mission in life.
Man has both potentialities within himself; which one is actualized depends on decisions but not on conditions.
Personal Key Takeaways
There are several important things that I took away from reading this book. 2019 and early 2020 were quite hard years for me personally. The book really lifted me out of a certain darkness that I was in.
Go and Find Your Why
Reading this book spurred me to go out and spent a lot of time on finding my why. I did the Why Workshop suggested by Simon Sinek. My Why turned out to be “To turn adversity into opportunity”, which as you might guess is derived out of the “sufferings” that I have gone through out my life. Once you have found your Why it becomes so much easier to make decisions. With your why as core pillar, you can then go and define your principles that help you live in a way that feels right for you.
Reflect on Your Suffering – Find Strength
I have spent a lot of time reflecting on my sufferings and things that have happened. Thinking about them in a “meaning” mindset helps to work through them. Look for meaning in them and believe that they can have meaning. This not only makes it incredibly easy to learn from them, but it also helps you navigate the emotional strain from them. Once you learn from failings and digest the emotional stress, the picture for your personal future becomes ever so clearer. This exercise that was initiated by reading Frankl’s work really gave me the strength to make changes and take decisions. It truly pulled me out of a lethargic state of mind I was in.
“Darkness cannot drive out Darkness; only light can do that.” – Martin Luther King
Everyone’s Situation Is Unique and Thus We Are the Masters of Our Destiny
No situation is the same, therefore no one else but yourself can find your meaning. Others can only facilitate, but too often we look outwards and hope that someone will tell us what to do and who to be. No one can tell you who to be, only you can. Start asking yourself and not yout life. Reflect on yourself, your life, your gut feeling and go from there. You can only find strengths deep within yourself. The only thing you can really influence is the choices you make, and your destiny is the sum of your choices. Your experiences do not define you, only what you do with them. Your experiences are yours, and yours alone! Your circumstances DO NOT define you, you do!
Forgiveness Equals Freedom
In all honesty, if Viktor Frankl managed to forgive his captors, then you can too. The atrocities he lived through during WW2 are probably much worse than the things most of use have faced and will face. Also forgetting is not forgiveness, I can vouch for that from my own experience. Often, we think we have forgiven but we only forgot. Forgiveness takes a lot of strength and reflection, but it is worth it. Take the time and reflect on the things that have been put upon you by others and search for the inner forte to forgive them. Every deed that you can forgive will make you feel lighter and will heighten your spirits.
Experience the World to Find Your Purpose
No one is born and knows straightaway what their purpose is; this is something one finds through time. In order to find things, you have to look for them and it is the same with your purpose. Only by gathering experiences and trying out things, can you be successful on this journey of discovery. This is also something Gary Vaynerchuk (GaryVee) likes to advice to young people. If you do not know what you enjoy, then go and try a million things and you are sure to find something.
The Existential Vacuum Is a Mass Syndrome, but Not Terminal
Most of the people in our modern society suffer from the existential vacuum. Frankl shares some statistics of studies done with students and the results are eye opening. The majority suffers from it. While in the 19th century our society was focused on values, this has changed. The second half of the 20th century in particular was focused on profit and making money. Salary was all. This is not fulfilling and leads to heaps of psychological stress. There is a simple solution to this and that is to find your meaning, whatever it may be. Go get it!
Tension Within Yourself Is Normal
As Frankl states a healthy state of mind is one with tension. Especially when you search for your meaning you will feel tension. Whenever you get confronted with something that will question your meaning or is not aligned with it, you will feel tense. A feeling of weightlessness is not the thing to strive for. This feeling of strain just shows that you are trying to be a better person.
In my opinion this book is an absolute must read and I highly advice anyone going through hardship, whatever it may be, to read this book. It will lift you up and give you inspiration. The ideas and concepts in the book are very simple and can be applied easily in one’s life.
