Earlier this year, I took a trip to Krakow, Poland, to visit Auschwitz, one of the six former Nazi extermination camps. To put the experience into words is difficult for me, yet I would urge anyone to go, to pay their respects. The emotions invoked in me, even just recalling my visit now, are profound. I can only imagine what it must have been like in those camps. And it leaves me wondering how there is such a thing as war today, or how anyone ever survived. Fortunately, one such survivor was Dr. Viktor Frankl.
From his experiences, far worse than my post-war visit, Frankl was able to put them into words, which give us a real insight.
In this blog I take a brief look of what Frankl learnt during his time in the camps. It can get deep, so stay with it.
Frankl's words were captured in his book "Man's Search for Meaning", exploring human resilience, purpose, and searching for meaning in life during extreme suffering. Here are some key take-aways from his work, let us know what you think:
1. The Importance of Finding Meaning & Purpose in Life
Frankl asserted that our primary drive as humans is the pursuit of meaning, even in the most severe circumstances. He wrote that the ultimate test for all of us is to find meaning in life.
“The prisoner who had lost faith in the future – his future – was doomed. With his loss of belief in the future he also lost his spiritual hold; he let himself decline and become subject to mental and physical decay.”
He's telling us that finding a purpose or meaning can help us endure and overcome suffering. He also referred several times to Nietzsche in his writing:
“He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.”
2. In all Suffering there is Meaning
In line with Buddha's teaching, some 2500 years ago, Frankl also emphasised that suffering, no matter how painful, can be a source of meaning. How we respond to unavoidable suffering can also give our lives depth and purpose. By accepting suffering as part of life, we can seek to find meaning in it. (Or as Buddha simply said, for followers to accept: "Life is suffering") . This can allow us to then translate our experience into something of value: what did we learn from it? And how can we use it going forward?
“If there is a meaning in life at all, then there must be a meaning in suffering. Suffering is an eradicable part of life, even as fate and death. Without suffering and death, human life cannot be complete.”
Frankl claimed that one finds meaning in life through three ways:
Work, especially if both creative in nature and aligned with a purpose greater than ourselves.
Love, which can manifest itself in the service of others.
Suffering, which is fundamental to human experience.
3. The Freedom to Choose Our Attitude
We have no real control over our external circumstances, yet we still have the freedom to choose how we respond to them - our attitude. This inner freedom cannot be taken away from us.
“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.“
Simply put, it's not what happens to us in life, life is inevitable, we cannot control that; It's how we respond to it that counts, that's what we do have control over.
4. The Role of Responsibility
The pursuit of meaning is tied to our sense of responsibility was Frankl's view. We are responsible not just to ourselves, but to everything that gives us meaning. This responsibility can provide motivation to endure any hardship and succeed in our goals.
“We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life and instead 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 right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answers to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual.”
5. Transcendence of the Self
Frankl suggested true meaning comes from looking beyond ourselves, or as we might say being in 'service to others'. Whether through love, work, or acts of kindness, transcending our own needs and focusing on others or on something greater than ourselves can lead to a more fulfilling and meaningful life.
“By giving life meaning, one gives light to suffering. Meaning does not come from contemplating one's own self, but from living for something or someone else”
This quote captures Frankl's belief that true meaning is found in dedicating ourselves to others and something greater than our own needs.
Closing Thoughts
Viktor Frankl worked as a psychologist in Vienna before being imprisoned in Auschwitz, Poland in 1942. Unlike millions of people in the extermination camps, he survived. Immediately after being liberated from the camps in 1945, he wrote Man's Search for Meaning in just nine days, attempting to explore how he had the will and courage to survive his experience. He later founded logotherapy, his existential practice.
As with other survivors of the holocaust, Frankl highlights the resilience of the human spirit and the capacity to find meaning and purpose even in the face of sheer adversity. He also came to the conclusion that there is no one-size-fits-all answer to the meaning of life. Each of us must answer this question for ourselves. Inevitably we find our own unique meaning based on our situation, our relationships and our experiences. Life is essentially an individual test, and the answer is revealed in how we respond to it. Certainly, therapy is one place where we might uncover that, change and grow, transcending our adversities.
Man's Search for Meaning is, without doubt, a profoundly moving and inspirational book. It has sold over 10 million copies in more than 24 languages around the world.
Frankl's wisdom is timeless and offers a powerful reminder that even in the darkest moments, we can find purpose and meaning, to be resilient and live on. If you’re looking for a book that challenges, uplifts, and inspires, Man’s Search for Meaning is a must-read.
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