The story describes the counter-intuitive survival of victor Frankl.
The man who struggled three years of acute labor, under extreme conditions of living
inside the nazi's concentration camps.
There were various unpleasant events the prisoners had to tolerate:
Such as torture, starvation, hard labor, violence, discrimination, degradation & demoralization.
In the coldest days, they didn't even have any coats to wear or proper shoes conducive
to working.
Basic human needs like socializing were mostly prohibited.
They were not allowed to talk about their families, memories or even simple topics like
their favorite food.
The majority of the prisoners, couldn't bear the lack of nutrition & torture.
So a few months after their arrival to the camp, these prisoners committed suicide.
The question is why did most of the prisoners lose hope in living while victor frankl & a
few minority decided not to suicide during all those years of TORTURE.
Here's the thing, the prisoners who committed suicide, didn't see any meaning in their daily
suffering.
They gave up on life because they believed that there is no concrete reason for being
tortured & beaten unfairly day after day.
They thought that their daily suffering gave no meaning to their lives so they decided
to kill themselves.
In the contrary, the prisoners who survived their predicament, Had "given" meaning to
their suffering.
They labeled suffering as a challenge, not a hindrance.
Over the years, the survivors had to shift their attention from "what is the meaning
in my suffering ?"
towards: "How many times do I have to prove to life that I can handle any obstacle"
The big idea here is to
Stop questioning about the meaning of life, and start acting as if you are the one who's
being questioned by life.
Life is asking you "how much pain can you handle?"
Life is challenging you.
And in this context, the meaning of life is "that" challenge.
The challenge to accept suffering as a part of life & to endure any kind of obstacle.
For this I wanted to quote the author in his saying:
"In accepting this challenge to suffer bravely, life has a meaning up to the last moment,
and it retains this meaning literally to the end"
- Victor Frankl
There was another belief that aided in reducing the hopelessness of the survivors And is "to
develop a humorous look upon life".
What they did was, instead of feeling bitter about their situation, they looked upon their
pain & laughed wholeheartedly.
they developed a dirty pleasure in the pain.
Thinking in this manner, the prisoners managed to recycle every day's agony into a joyous
look upon life.
They wanted to prove to life how much pain they were able to tolerate.
To prove that this mere creature we call "human" wields tremendous power that lies within him.
The potential to tackle any obstacle; whatever the case maybe be.
The prisoners refused to appear weak in the face of life & death.
So they laughed, every day, they laughed at their misery & kept proving to themselves
how much pain they were able to bear.
And I want you, to develop the same kind of humorous look upon life.
Upon, pain especially.
You may never experience torture in your whole life but it's considered enough bravery to
hold your ground against every day's challenges, to laugh at them & to never give up.
The people who are frequently depressed & unhappy, seem to miss out, on one of the major requirements
of a happy life.
It's that a good life is based on a certain degree of tension.
Because they deny the inevitability of hardships, they, ironically, suffer the most.
Thus, a man who welcomes life as it is, as a tragic existence, will experience a dramatic
relief from these daily mental torments.
Apart from finding meaning in suffering to give your life a purpose.
there is Another way and it is through an active way of living.
An active lifestyle serves a man a reason for living by doing creative work.
For example, cultivating a skill.
You may want to be a professional artist & inspire others with your work.
Another example is building a business.
It requires hustling, sharing, reading, growing, contributing.
An active way of living serves life a meaning because the person wouldn't want to die unless
he has accomplished his dreams.
So building something great also gives life a meaning till the end.
So the first way to go about finding a meaning is to
Stop for that meaning in the first place & start acting as if you are the one who's being questioned
by life.
Life is asking you "how much pain can you handle?"
"show me what you're capable of" Life is testing you, life is challenging you.
And the meaning of life lies in that challenge.
The second approach we saw to go about finding your purpose is to adopt an active lifestyle.
Cultivate a skill or start a business,
When you adopt an active way of living, your purpose for living grows associated with building
something great.
I believe that's a powerful cause to live for.
Lastly, I wanted to underline That the meaning of life should never be definite
& absolute.
namely, the meaning of life should be reinvented depending on the alteration of a man's circumstances.
For instance, in your twenties, your purpose for living
could be, creating something of value, chasing your dreams.
Perhaps in your 40's & 50's it will change completely towards building a healthy family
environment for example.
So remember, the meaning of life can never be defined vividly, thus it has to be reinvented
& regenerated depending on the circumstances you find yourself in.
Thanks for watching.