How to find meaning in our existence, according to Viktor Frankl

Many times We focus so much on changing our circumstances that we forget the enormous power we have to Enjoy the present no matter what happens. One of the greatest exponents of this idea was the Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl.

Based on the story of his experiences in a concentration camp, this author explains in his book Man’s Search for Meaning the experience that led him to create logotherapy, a psychotherapy from which the will to meaning is proposed as the primary motivation of the human being. Viktor Frankl, long a prisoner, felt in his own being the meaning of a naked existence.

Now, how could he accept that life was worth living? A man who had lost everything, who had seen everything worthwhile destroyed, who suffered hunger, cold, endless brutality, and who so many times was on the verge of extermination. And yet, Frankl managed to find the meaning of his existence.

According to this psychiatrist, the search for meaning of life is the essence of it. In the realization of this sense, man aspires to meet another human being in the form of a you and love him.

When the meaning of existence is frustrated, the desire for power or pleasure occupies the most important place in motivating behavior. Thus, The search for happiness becomes an end in itself and therefore frustration arises.

How can we transform our existence?

Happiness is obtained as a consequence of having a goal, and not by the direct search for it. The door to happiness opens outward, and whoever tries to knock it down is locked.

Optimism is a key piece of Frankl’s conception. In his philosophy, life appears as an opportunity to which we must respond; It is necessary to look for the best option to preserve it and therefore maintain the promise of survival. In this sense, once the why is defined, the emphasis shifts to the how.

Love is the highest goal to which human beings can aspire.. This fundamental faith allows us to recover all the efforts, decisions or actions that someone has made in their life. The fundamental thing for Frankl is what man answers to the questions that life asks him, and not what the person asks him. Happiness is the result of having meaning.

In this commitment, values ​​play a fundamental role. Especially important are those of attitude, creation and experience, with the love experience being especially notable in the latter case.

Values ​​make possible an inner journey from which arises, on the one hand, faith in the future, and on the other, the search for resources of love. and meaning in one’s own personal life story.

The relationship between inner strength (values, faith, love, meaning) and future goal is the link that integrates the individual. and allows you to recognize yourself as a unique and unrepeatable being.

What is the inner attitude?

The inner attitude towards circumstances is the result of a personal choice. It is the freedom to become the kind of person you want to be. Being beyond material or physical limitations is a human possibility where man knows the experience of heroism.

In order for people to develop the best possible inner attitude, Frankl spoke of a series of fundamental teachings. The nine most important are the following:

Choose to have hope. We cannot always change circumstances, but we can always choose our attitude in any situation that arises. When we can no longer change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.Know your by whatand. Ask yourself: What am I living for? Every day we should get up and ask ourselves why we got up and why we are here. “Those who have a ‘why’ can tolerate almost any ‘how’.Learn to cry. Tears are not a sign of weakness, they emanate from a soul that is not afraid to break. “There is no need to be ashamed of tears, because they testify that a man had the greatest courage, the courage to suffer.”Don’t settle for being part of the herd. The world is upside down. Sometimes doing what everyone else does is crazy. “An abnormal reaction to an abnormal situation is normal.”Live with meaning. We give meaning to life by answering the questions it asks us. Life presents each person with a challenge and the person can only respond with his or her own action. What one expects from one’s existence does not matter; What matters is what is expected of you.Fill your day with acts of kindness. Kindness has a purpose, the hundreds of small altruistic acts we have the opportunity to do each day help fill our lives with meaning.Go beyond yourself. We find true meaning when we transcend our own limits and needs. The more a person forgets themselves, by giving themselves to a cause or another person, the more human they are and the more they grow.Feel the pain of others. Suffering is painful, no matter how irrelevant the problem may seem to others. Have empathy for the pain of others, even if it is not a tragedy in the overall perspective of life.We can change even when life is difficult. We can create a meaningful life full of meaning, love and purpose.

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