"Man's Search for Meaning" Reading Notes#
Author: [Austrian] Viktor Frankl
Reading Duration: 0 hours
These are the notes and excerpts I recorded while reading "Man's Search for Meaning" on WeChat Reading.
Preface#
If in your lifetime you can have such a book, where a certain chapter or a certain idea it contains not only touches your soul but also leads it to dance with it, even changing your daily life and destiny, then you must often revisit such a book and treat it with the care of a treasure.
Frankl discovered three possible paths to find meaning in life: work (doing meaningful things), love (caring for others), and having the courage to overcome difficulties. Suffering itself is meaningless, but we can give it meaning through our response to suffering. Frankl points out, "In suffering, a person may still remain brave, dignified, and selfless, or may lose their dignity in fierce struggle for self-protection, becoming no different from lower animals."
Some uncontrollable forces may take away many things from you, but the one thing they cannot take away is your freedom to choose how to respond to different situations. You cannot control what happens in life, but you can control your emotions and actions in facing those things.
Life is full of meaning, and people must discard the disturbances of the environment and learn to pursue the meaning of life.
We ultimately recognize the true nature of humanity. Remember, humanity does not only refer to those who invented the gas chambers of Auschwitz but also to those who silently recited God or the Virgin Mary and walked straight into the gas chambers.
If in your lifetime you can have such a book, where a certain chapter or a certain idea it contains not only touches your soul but also leads it to dance with it, even changing your daily life and destiny, then you must often revisit such a book and treat it with the care of a treasure.
Frankl discovered three possible paths to find meaning in life: work (doing meaningful things), love (caring for others), and having the courage to overcome difficulties. Suffering itself is meaningless, but we can give it meaning through our response to suffering. Frankl points out, "In suffering, a person may still remain brave, dignified, and selfless, or may lose their dignity in fierce struggle for self-protection, becoming no different from lower animals."
Some uncontrollable forces may take away many things from you, but the one thing they cannot take away is your freedom to choose how to respond to different situations. You cannot control what happens in life, but you can control your emotions and actions in facing those things.
Life is full of meaning, and people must discard the disturbances of the environment and learn to pursue the meaning of life.
We ultimately recognize the true nature of humanity. Remember, humanity does not only refer to those who invented the gas chambers of Auschwitz but also to those who silently recited God or the Virgin Mary and walked straight into the gas chambers.
Self-Preface#
Do not think only of success— the more you think about success, the more likely you are to fail. Success, like happiness, is something that can be encountered but not sought. It is a natural byproduct, a derivative that arises when a person unconsciously dedicates themselves to a great cause, or a byproduct of serving others. Happiness will eventually come, and so will success: often, it is the case that unintentional efforts yield fruitful results. I hope all your actions obey your conscience and are realized through knowledge. One day you will find, of course, after quite a long time—note, I say quite a long time!—that it is precisely due to this lack of focus that success will come to you.
Do not think only of success— the more you think about success, the more likely you are to fail. Success, like happiness, is something that can be encountered but not sought. It is a natural byproduct, a derivative that arises when a person unconsciously dedicates themselves to a great cause, or a byproduct of serving others. Happiness will eventually come, and so will success: often, it is the case that unintentional efforts yield fruitful results. I hope all your actions obey your conscience and are realized through knowledge. One day you will find, of course, after quite a long time—note, I say quite a long time!—that it is precisely due to this lack of focus that success will come to you.
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