Man's Search for Meaning Summary

Frankl was a professor and psychiatrist from Vienna. He and his family were persecuted as Jews in Nazi concentration camps during World War II. Frankl himself was lucky as he was one of few to survive but his family wasn't.

In the camps Frankl himself was kept alive by a combination of factors, like - sheer luck, hoping to see his family again, and his decision to let fate take its course. He understood that making an active decision to change his fate could potentially lead to death coming sooner.

Logotherapy guides one to find their purpose and meaning in their lives. This meaning differs by individual and can change from hour to hour.

Meaning can be found in even the smallest of details. So, don’t spend all your waking hours searching for an all-encompassing meaning of life. Instead, search for meaning in everyday tasks and in the relationships you have with your friends and family.

It does not matter what life throws at you. What truly matters is how you choose to handle these situations. 

Everyone must find unique meaning in their lives and then go out and fulfill it.

When i started reading this book i had no idea that i was going to encounter something so stunning. Although the book is not very long (like 100 pages) its content contain very deep meanings and makes you think about life, time, mercy, hope, freedom and evilness on every single page.

Viktor Emil Frankl was an Austrian neurologist, psychiatrist, philosopher, writer, and Holocaust survivor. He was the founder of logotherapy, a school of psychotherapy that describes a search for a life's meaning as the central human motivational force. 

In 1942, just nine months after his marriage, Frankl and his family were sent to the Theresienstadt concentration camp. His father died there of starvation and pneumonia. In 1944, Frankl and the surviving members of his family were transported to Auschwitz, where his mother and brother were murdered in the gas chambers. His wife died later of typhus in Bergen-Belsen. Frankl spent three years in four concentration camps.

To live is to suffer; to survive is to find meaning in suffering. If there is a purpose in life, there must be a purpose in suffering and dying. But no man can tell another what this purpose is. Each must find out for himself and accept his answer's responsibility.

All the familiar goals in life are snatched away. What alone remains is "the last of human freedoms".

If hundreds of thousands of people reach out for a book whose very title promises to deal with the question of a meaning to life, it must be a question that burns under their fingernails.

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How was everyday life in a concentration camp reflected in the mind of the average prisoner?

Most of the events described here did not occur in the large and famous camps but in the small ones where most extermination occurred.

For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one's dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself.

Man can survive any how as long as his why is strong enough

No matter the situation, we have the ability to choose how we react, we always have the choice to choose our attitude. As long as you hold onto this, no matter what happens, we would have lived well.

It is not the circumstances but an inner decision that leads to man’s behavior. We may blame our circumstances but the truth is our inner constitution was not strong enough. You can always control what you do in your limited capacity.

Have you ever wondered what is the meaning of life? It’s hard to define the meaning of life in a general way that everyone can relate to. But I found a book that almost nailed it. Man's Search for Meaning by E viktor frankl.

So according to him, you can discover the meaning of life in three different ways.

No.1)By finding a work that not only excites you but also adds to the community.

When you turn your passion into a profession and inspire others to do the same, you find immense meaning in life.

No.2)By falling in love or experiencing things like goodness, truth and beauty. I know it sounds cliche but it is what it is.

No.3)In the attitude you take towards unavoidable suffering. How do you deal with the darkest of times because life is full of suffering?

Here’s another way to look at this. Maybe it is not you who is asking the question, maybe it is life that is asking you "What sort of meaning are you going to give this life."

And You will not find the answer in some abstract philosophy because the meaning of life is not something vague but very real and concrete just like your life’s task. So If you wake up every day and respond to life by being responsible to your daily tasks and duties. Then You find profound meaning in Life. People have found immense meaning in responsibility.

Frankl, a Holocaust survivor, argues that even in the most extreme circumstances, individuals can find meaning and purpose in their lives. He emphasizes the importance of finding meaning in suffering as a way to endure and transcend difficult experiences.

Frankl introduces the concept of the "will to meaning," suggesting that humans are driven by a fundamental need to find purpose and significance in their lives. He posits that this search for meaning is a primary motivating factor for human behavior.

 Despite external circumstances, Frankl argues that individuals always retain the freedom to choose their attitudes and responses to life's challenges. He believes that this freedom of choice is a fundamental aspect of human dignity and resilience.

Have you ever wondered about the meaning of your life? Viktor Frankl, in this book believes that humans have a natural desire to find meaning in life, which he calls the "will to meaning" and that they are motivated by this force.

This book willchallenge your beliefs and inspire you to seek meaning in your own life, even in the face of adversity.

“Don’t aim at success—the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue…as the unintended side effect of one’s personal dedication to a course greater than oneself.”

When you go beyond your own personal aspirations, become less self-centered and more others-oriented, the act of living a life of service towards others and elevating the quality of others' lives through your kindness will create a byproduct of happiness. At the end of the day, true success is found in the relationships we nurture.

At times, lightning decisions had to be made, decisions which spelled life or death.

"There's only one thing I dread: not to be worthy of my sufferings."