What could this be for?
We can't always choose what happens, but we can choose our attitude, and sometimes find meaning in it.
This lesson doesn't say that suffering is good, or that everything happens for a reason. If you can't find meaning in something painful, that's allowed. And if things feel hopeless, please talk to someone you trust or a professional.
The story
Viktor Frankl was a psychiatrist in Vienna when, in 1942, he and his family were deported by the Nazis. Over the next three years he was held in four camps, including Auschwitz. His parents, his brother and his wife all died.
Frankl noticed that those who held on to something to live for, a person waiting for them, a task to finish, sometimes found a strength that others couldn't. After his liberation he wrote Man's Search for Meaning in a matter of days. It has since sold millions of copies.
“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”
The idea
Frankl believed that our deepest drive is not for pleasure or power but for meaning. He described three places to find it: in something we create or do, in someone or something we love, and in the attitude we take to suffering we can't avoid.
The question isn't "why did this happen to me?", which often has no answer. It's closer to "what is this asking of me?", or "what does it show me I care about?"
Meaning can't be forced, and it often only becomes clear later. Sometimes the most honest answer for now is "I don't know yet."
Echoes in other traditions
- Stoicism
Marcus Aurelius wrote that what stands in the way of action can itself become the way forward.
- Psychology
Research on post-traumatic growth finds that some people report new strengths and priorities after hardship, alongside the pain.
Try it with something on your mind
Think of a difficulty you're living with, one that can't easily be changed.
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Check your understanding
What did Frankl mean by finding meaning in suffering?
Finish the lesson
Answer the question above to complete the lesson.