Man’s Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl
Dr. Frankl reminds us that even in Auschwitz, prisoners were able to discover meaning in their lives.
Book Review
✍️ Author: Viktor E. Frankl
✨ Rating: 6/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🚀
📌 Genre: Memoir, Psychology, History
Why This Book?
Man’s Search for Meaning is about a man, who when Hitler had occupied Austria, received a visa to escape to the United States, yet chose to stay with his family to endure the traumatic concentration camps. In this book are his deep thoughts and wisdom about the true meaning of life.
Written by Viktor Frankl — a psychiatrist, Holocaust survivor, and the founder of logotherapy (psychotherapy that focuses on finding the meaning of life)
This book was published in 1946 and is still relevant and well-read by many to this day. The best insights about life written in under 200 pages
Will revolutionize how you view suffering, find meaning in it, choose to cope with it, and eventually find purpose in our renewed purpose
What you'll get from this book?
Through Frankl’s personal experiences, this book will answer this simple but deep question; why and how could anyone survive despite facing traumatic life experiences?
Inside story of life in concentration camps, and useful wisdom and lessons gained from those experiences
Insightful words that will motivate you to search for the true meaning of life
Practical strategies to face struggles through logotherapy (man’s quest for meaning in their lives)
Book Summary
Man’s Search for Meaning, by Viktor Frankl, is one of the most influential books of all time. I think everyone should read it at least once in their lifetime, and re-read it again just to be reminded of its important life lessons. The book is about Frankl’s personal experience in four different concentration camps during the Holocaust. Interestingly, the focus of Frankl’s book is less about why people died during camp, and more concerned with the deep question of why and how anyone at all survived. Frankl passionately reinforced his key idea that the quest of life is not for pleasure, nor is it for power, but rather — a deep, and unconditional pursuit for meaning. Additionally, Frankl also offered 3 ways for us to discover meaning in our lives; 1) work (creating or doing a deed), 2) love (experiencing the beauty of nature or culture, and loving another human being), and 3) courage in suffering (by our attitude towards unavoidable suffering). One of Frankl’s insights that will stay with me for a long time is: “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”. While we cannot control what happens to us in life, we all have the freedom to take a stand toward the conditions; how we feel, and the decisions we make.
I think about this book a lot lately because the pandemic has changed our lives in many ways. For me, personally, I had to postpone my graduation which caused me to feel removed from my friends, and from my usual anticipated future plans. But after reading this book, I realize that I should not submit to these circumstances, and instead start to make conscious decisions and actions to realize opportunities around me. “Man does not simply exist but always decides what his existence will be, what he will become in the next moment.” I hope this book will help recenter your mind, motivate you to rise up above the uncontrollable circumstance, and take the steering wheel to take charge of how you respond to difficult circumstances. 🌱☁️
Click here to purchase Man’s Search for Meaning!
5 Best Quotes from Man’s Search for Meaning
Never take your life for granted
“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”
A sense of purpose can help you endure even the most difficult conditions
“He who has a Why to live can bear almost any How”
Love conquers all
“The salvation of man is through love and in love”
You may not be able to control your environment but you have the freedom to control your reaction
“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”
Suffering is a part of life. How we respond to suffering is an opportunity to add deeper meaning to our lives.
“In some way, suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds meaning”
Bonus:
“We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life. Our answer must consist, not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual”
Click here to read Man’s Search for Meaning.
Hey, I’m Jenn —
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I love to read nonfiction books and summarize important lessons. My goal is to help you get SMARTER and be more PRODUCTIVE in less time. 🚀
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