Psychology

Frankl: Finding Meaning In Everyday Life (2/2)

Is the meaning of life something which can actually affect our daily lives, or is it an abstraction for philosophers? Viktor Frankl is convinced that a lack of meaning causes depression, addiction, aggression and boredom. He believes the key to finding meaning is realizing that life’s meaning is not a question that you ask life, it is a question that life asks you. Even the task of suffering courageously can be a means of fulfillment. Our sole and brief life offers one chance to act rightly before being forever sealed into the past. The task of being worthy of your sufferings, if that is your fate, might not be so meaningless after all.

Frankl: Introduction to Man’s Search For Meaning (1/2)

Viktor Frankl (1905-1997) was a survivor of the holocaust as well as a psychologist, neurologist and author. As a clinician, he became convinced that human beings actually desire meaning, not pleasure or power. As a survivor, he discovered that even horrendous suffering and death are not obstacles to a meaningful life. As an author, Frankl explains that every moment of every day––regardless if it is filled with the grime of Auschwitz or the glitter of Hollywood––gives an opportunity for us to manifest our human freedom to choose whether our souls flourish or perish. The difference is always up to us, it will always be significant, and so we will always have a purpose.