Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl Book Review

 

Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl Book Review

I grabbed from a man search for meaning by Viktor Frankl starting with the first idea now number one you can resist the influence of your environment I think of this idea that wasn't in the book but relates this idea now of the alcoholic with two sons they asked the sons later 

How they turned out one was very successful didn't drink alcohol at all and the other was just like his father an alcoholic their response was the same what do you expect my dad was an alcoholic just remember you can be a product of your environment but you don't have to be you always have the ability to resist it 

Number Two accept the present Viktor Frankl said that when you lose faith in your future you're doomed rightfully so when you have no hope for your future it can be very hard proceeding forward with your life that being said this could be your downfall as well 

Viktor Frankl said that it was the optimistic prisoners who had that hardest chance of surviving one example he gave was a prisoner who was so optimistic that he was going to leave March 30th that date had passed and shortly after he died on his death report it said that he died from typhus but Viktor Frankl believes it was because of lack of hope he was 

So locked in on getting out and when that date came and left and he was still in the prison it crushed the spirit so by all means be hopeful for your future but don't let it get in the way of your present because this moment that you want whether it be finding love a new job your dream coming true may or may not happen so as you proceed along the way always be accepting of what's happening to you right now 

Number Three suffering can transform you Viktor Frankl has said that without suffering and death life is incomplete and that suffering is unavoidable if it's unavoidable why did we try so hard to resist it what if we chose to believe that it's happening for our greater good 

I think about the author going through the Holocaust it transformed him for the better he came out a better person and he helps so many people just like the events in your life it could be like you turning from a caterpillar to a butterfly you see the caterpillar goes into the cocoon it's in a dark place just like when you're experienced suffering and traumatic events you're in a dark place you're wondering what's going on why did this happen to me am 

I going to survive it but if you're willing to be like the author and realize that there's the meaning behind what's happening that you have the ability to come out better from the situation if you endure it at one of these days you'll break out be transformed and have your own wings there is great meaning and suffering it can transform you 

Number Four seeking sympathy leads to bitterness can you recall a time in your life when you were sharing a story of your past that was traumatic and dark and you didn't get the response you were looking for not only did you not get sympathy but it became a battle a competition of who was a bigger victim this happened to many prisoners who got out of the Holocaust they're sharing their horrors and all their traumatic experiences and only to be met with people saying well

I suffered too you know my house was raided and they brought up a bunch of minor details that paled in comparison to these Holocaust survivors but still these prisoners came out bitter because they did not get the sympathy they were seeking let's not make this a competition everyone suffers it's not about who suffers the most it's about learning from the experience grabbing meaning from it and moving on and becoming a better person 

Number Five you seek pleasure when meaning is lost think about your vices eating too much drinking too much watching too much TV it's largely due to believing you don't have meaning in your life it could be due to your job you feel that you're in a dead-end job 

It could be the beliefs you have about yourself you have low self-esteem you believe you can't improve you can't grow you can't actualize your dreams when you don't have meaning in your life you see pleasures so on the weekends you're just trying to have fun any free time you have you're doing it out of a sense of pleasure but it's up to you to find that meaning.

I want to make videos that really help you inspire the world but I was experiencing self-doubt there's so many days these past couple months where I wanted to make a video but I would get my own way I would say it'll never be good no one will watch it I'm wasting my time you see 

I pulled all the meaning out of doing it but I realize I have to create meaning someway somehow to say that every time that I turn on the camera I had the opportunity to help someone I had the opportunity to improve and it'll help my self-esteem knowing that 

I'm trying my best and trying to get better you see if you're doing something you don't like alcohol drugs too much TV find a reason to create meaning in your life you can do it put your mind to it and when you're starting to live a life full of meaning you won't be distracted by your vices you won't see pleasure anymore and all your joy and fulfillment will come from the meaning that you've created 

Number Six paradoxical intention after Viktor Frankl got out of the Holocaust he went back to practicing psychiatry if you were one of his patients he might have used this idea on you to address your fears you see with a lot of our fears we try to block them out and avoid them as a way to overcome them here are he's suggesting you do the opposite not only not avoid them but focus on them 

so much that in a strange way it goes away one example being let's say you sweat a lot in front of groups of people he would advise you when you're in groups of people try your hardest to sweat as much as you you'll focus on the fear so much that you won't be able to sweat another example is insomnia Viktor Frankl might tell you that when you're laying down in bed try your best to stay up in a strange way as you fight this trying to fall asleep you'll actually fall asleep one last example is with rejection if you're 

so fearful of being rejected and you don't put yourself out there try to get rejected as many times as you can talk to someone you like offer a business proposition whatever it is and in those scenarios focus only on getting a no only on getting rejected and you'll find in those scenarios that the fear is gone you're actually quite confident because you're not afraid of being rejected anymore you'll find that you'll get a lot more yeses than nose.

Number Seven be grateful being grateful for where we are right now is one of the toughest things we could ever do but maybe as you go through this book and you notice all the prisoners suffering and all the liberties that they did not have that we take for granted every day it would cause you to be more grateful and complain a little less think about all the things that we do that we don't even think about what we choose for lunch how we dress what we do if our free time those prisoners did not have those liberties and whenever

I'm about to complain I think about someone out there who's suffering worse than I am and it puts it into perspective that my life is not as bad as I think plus everything can happen for a reason and you can choose to have meaning behind it if you want to one example being with a ticket 

I got recently I was going 20 miles over I was a little frustrated thinking there's many cars out there speeding why did they pull me over I choose to believe that it happened for a reason I got pulled over because if I didn't get pulled over I would have gotten the car accent a mile ahead just create meaning for the life you have now choose to be grateful that's how you add meaning to your life 

Number Eight the key takeaway key takeaway in my opinion is that your success and oftentimes your survival it's dependent upon your ability to create meaning in your life 

Whether it's those dark moments or the high moments create that mean and when you focus on things like this trying to be better than you were yes trying to enrich the lives of others trying to make the world a better place your life will be tremendously meaningful my friend if you have not read this book.

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