How to find the meaning of life?
Everyone’s life is unique and unparalleled, each person has their own life trials and therefore the search for meaning cannot be reduced to a recipe that would apply to all people. Frankl compares this to the question of what is the best chess move in the world. There is no best move, it depends on the situation on the chessboard and the opponent’s personality. The same applies to human existence. Therefore, we cannot prescribe to other people the meaning of their lives and how they should live.
However, what applies to all people is that the answer to the question of meaning does not come from the psychophysical part of a person. It is not a product of subjective desires, passing opinions, and decisions. The meaning is not invented, but discovered, and in that, a person is guided by their conscience. Conscience is the organ of meaning, says Frankl, it directs us and tells us what is truly valuable. However, conscience is not a monologue with oneself, with one’s desires, hopes, and expectations, conscience is a dialogue with the noblest part of a person. It is the he meaning of life? It is not up to the individual to ask questions about the meaning of life, Frankl replies, but rather the opposite, the individual should respond to the questions posed by their own life. We can have different dreams and fantasies, set various goals and declare them as our life’s purpose. However, life poses questions to us through various challenges that lead us to discover meaning, and it is our answers that determine whether we will find it. ‘t possible to change the situation, we are faced with the challenge of changing ourselves. In the way we endure suffering, how we carry our burden, man has the opportunity to transform himself as a human being. The unique human potential is the transformation of personal tragedy into victory. When we can’t change the situation any longer, we have the chance to change ourselves.’ We are able to change the situation, we are faced with the challenge of changing ourselves.
Frankl speaks of the tragic triad of human life, consisting of life difficulties, guilt, transience, and death, inevitable situations that cause suffering. However, human potential always allows suffering to be transformed into human achievement.
Life difficulties are inevitable, so the problem is not that they exist, but rather that we allow them to emotionally and mentally imprison us, thus preventing ourselves from finding solutions. None of them are in vain and from each one we can emerge as winners if we use these situations to gain valuable experience that will lead to a better understanding of life. This doesn’t mean that we will successfully solve all of them, but even failure brings experience that we can use in similar situations in the future. Every life difficulty is an opportunity to transcend our own limitations and grow as human beings.
Guilt is a destructive feeling that drains life energy and gives rise to a sense of dissatisfaction. I am unable because we cannot turn back time to correct our actions. However, the mere fact that we feel guilt indicates that we have understood our mistakes. From the feeling of guilt, one should create an opportunity to change for the better, says Frankl. This means realizing that life gives us a lesson and instead of exhausting ourselves in self-blame, it is more meaningful to use that energy to change ourselves so that we do not repeat the same mistakes.
Transience and death are laws of life, every living being will die and everything that exists will eventually disappear. However, this is also a reminder that the best we can do is to make the most of every moment of life. We are dying every moment because each moment of life is unique and irreversibly lost if not meaningfully utilized. It is pointless to suffer due to the unchangeable laws of life; we should be more concerned about missed moments.
The infinite meaning is not attainable for a limited being. This knowledge is acquired through wisdom, and that is the wisdom of the heart. It depends on the number of books read, not on the amount of information remembered. It is not achieved with a single procedure or decision. It is a lifelong journey that requires constant and conscious mastery of life’s trials and transcending one’s own limitations, gradually approaching the understanding of the meaning of life. The main obstacle on this path is selfishness and self-absorption.
Being a human being always directs and is focused on something or someone other than oneself. The more a person forgets about themselves by serving a goal, the more they become a person and the more they fulfill themselves.
The more a person strives for self-fulfillment, the more they miss it… The more a person is the end goal unto themselves, the further they are from achieving that goal. That’s why Frankl emphasizes the ability that only humans possess, and that is self-transcendence, forgetting oneself, moving away from one’s desires and needs, and dedicating oneself to someone or something outside of oneself in the name of love, ideals, something that is not personal gain. Being a human being always points and is directed towards different things or other people besides ourselves. The more we forget about ourselves and dedicate ourselves to a goal, the more we achieve and become truly human.
The Roman philosopher Plotinus spoke of two impulses and two directions of the human soul, one leading to descent and the other leading to ascent. The impulse that leads us to descent directs us towards transient values. We become selfishly preoccupied with our everyday problems and are unaware of everything else. The impulse that leads us to ascent turns us towards eternity and enduring values. When we focus on them and nourish our soul with them, we begin to understand the true value of life. Then, our daily worries become less significant, many things become unnecessary, and the only thing that matters is not to live life in vain.
Human beings have always been and probably will always be in the minority. But that very fact calls us to join that minority, says Frankl. We all want this world to be more humane and just. We, better, but are we aware that change begins with us and that this very effort gives meaning to our lives?
A person must decide at every moment what will be the monument to their existence. It all depends on our free will, the choices we make, and the responsibility we feel towards life.
All quotes are taken from the books of Viktor Frankl: Man’s Search for Meaning, The Unheard Cry for Meaning, The God we Never Knew, The Will to Meaning, The Doctor and the Soul.