Our primary drive in life is not pleasure, but the discovery and pursuit of what we personally find meaningful.
In the following videos, learn the core message from Viktor Frankl's book 'Man's Search for Meaning.'
During the holocaust in the 1940’s, Viktor Frankl spent 3 years as a prisoner in the Auschwitz and Dachau concentration camps. His wife, father, mother, and brother died in these camps.
He was faced with extreme hunger, debilitating illnesses, and brutal living conditions.
Yet unlike the prisoners around him, he somehow managed to find hope and meaning during one of the most catastrophic events in human history.
Frankl argues that we cannot avoid suffering but we can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward with renewed purpose.
Frankl’s theory-known as logotherapy, from the Greek word logos (“meaning”)-holds that our primary drive in life is not pleasure, as Freud maintained, but the discovery and pursuit of what we personally find meaningful.
Productivity Game Video Summary
Key Takeaways
The meaning of life is to make life meaningful.
Since meaning varies from day today and hour to hour, it’s up to you and I to constantly search for meaning in our lives and generate a feeling of meaning.
- If we succeed at finding meaning, we activate the single greatest source of productive energy human beings possess.
- If we fail, we will slowly fall into darkness and lose the will to live.
"Those who have a "why" to live, can bear with almost any "how."
The 3 Wells of Meaning
1. Pursuing a Life Task
If you died today, there’d be a task that you and only you, could have completed. A piece of work that required your unique collection of experiences, knowledge and strengths.
What task awaits you?
If you don’t know, set out on a quest to discover your life task.
Wake up each day with the goal of having new experiences, acquiring new knowledge, and developing a rare and valuable combination of skills.
"Life is preparing me to do something special."
2. Loving Selflessly
Frankl’s definition of love is different than most. It has little to do with the feeling of being in love and more about struggling to help others succeed.
- Love is an act in seeing the potential in others which is not yet actualized.
- Love is elevating the people around you (creating opportunities of your child, mentoring, introducing your friend to someone that may help them find a career, helping a friend etc.)
When you lack meaning, decide every morning who you will help elevate. The person or group of people whose life you will try to make a little bit better. So busy trying to help others, that you forget yourself in the process.
"The more one forgets himself by giving himself to another person to love, the more human he is and the more he actualizes himself."
3. Suffering Bravely
Whenever an unexpected, uncontrollable setback happens in life, find meaning in it to prevent the suffering from turning into despair.
Look at suffering objectively and ask yourself, how might this be valuable?
"Suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning."
Often the greatest value in suffering is how it strengthens your character.
When you think of your favorite movie, and then your favorite character in that movie, they often endure some sort of suffering, and through that suffering, discovered who they were and what they stood for.
Imagine yourself in a movie, and when you find yourself suffering, see it as an opportunity to strengthen your beliefs, your values and your ideals, and inspire others by doing so.
"By accepting the challenge to suffer bravely, life has a meaning up to the last moment.."
The most important task everyday, is to find meaning and make life meaningful.
We can make life meaningful by preparing and searching for our lives task by elevating others and by choosing to see suffering as a valuable opportunity to learn and strengthen our character.
The more your are able to find meaning hour to hour and day to day, the more likely you’ll get to the end of your life and be proud of the life you lived.
Fight Mediocrity Video Summary
Big Idea 1: Happiness cannot be purused
It’s not like a degree you pursue for four years and then you finally get it and keep it for the rest of your life. It’s more like a birth certificate that just comes with you. It’s in your house, you just have to find it.
There is nothing wrong with improving your life and being able to experience more. But that’s all it is. The ability to experience more.
You either cultivate the ability to be happy and are able to be completely happy where you are right now or there is absolutely nothing you can chase to attain happiness.
Big Idea 2: Stimulus and Response
There is a stimulus which you can’t control and a response which you can control, but we treat the response like we have no control over it. It’s just completely automatic for most people.
Something bad happens to you, you automatically get pissed off. The reality is you don’t have to. You have complete control over it. Doesn’t matter what type of stimulus you’re presented with.
No one can ever take away the ability for you to choose whatever response you life. Everything can be taken away from you, but, one remaining thing, and that is the freedom to choose.
OnePercentbetter Video Summary
1. He Who Has A 'Why" To Live For Can Bear With Almost Any 'How'
A man who becomes conscious of the responsibility he bears toward a human being who affectionately waits for him, or to an unfinished work, will never be able to throw away his life.
He knows his ‘why’ for his existence, and will be able to bear almost any ‘how.’
2. Love Is The Ultimate And Highest Goal To Which A Man Can Aspire
Love for family, friends, sharing work etc that can keep you pushing forward.
3. When We Are No Longer Able To Change A Situation, We Are Challenged To Change Ourselves
Stimulus and Response. Focus on what you can control.
We cannot avoid suffering, but we can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward.