Our Search for Meaning

Our Search for Meaning…

I spent some time just prior to the new year thumbing through an old copy of Viktor Frankl’s, “Man’s Search for Meaning,” and I am always amazed at how effective this book is in centering me (and humbling me….my problems are miniscule compared to Frankl and his contemporaries) to my primary purpose in life.

Frankl survived the Concentration camps of World War 2 and learned, amongst other things, that focusing on a higher purpose and fully experiencing his suffering helped him find meaning.  He was one of the lucky ones to be liberated from the camps, but many in his family, including his wife, had their lives taken from them (all information from the Wikipedia link).

According to Frankl, anything can happen to us, anything can be taken from us except for one thing, really, and that is our choice of how we respond to that situation.  We control our attitude, we control our reactions, we control our own way.  Despite losing many of his family and friends, he chose to find personal meaning in great tragedy.

No, that won’t help prevent tragedy.  No, that won’t change the odds if you’re the one targeted in a genocide or some other tragedy that was created by another mad man.   But you always have the power to protect your spirit from the circumstances occurring in the physical realm.

There is a tremendous amount of freedom in this approach to life.  You can consciously choose how to respond to any situation.

Choose Optimism over Pessimism.

Choose Hope over Despair.

Be Proactive, not Reactive.

Choose to be the architect of your own life.

Your potential is always waiting. 

When I try to apply Frankl’s teachings to my own life I realize that we actually need to strive and struggle for a goal.  There is no point to designing a life free of struggle, free of obstacles.  Growth cannot occur without obstacles, without struggle.  Then I begin to question some of the tenets of Minimalism where we try to remove all of the unnecessary in our lives. 

To draw a plain metaphor, if you spend your life on the couch without doing any resistance exercises (struggle against the obstacle of the weight force) you will never grow stronger.

There is another book I read some years ago by Robert Fritz called, The Path of Least Resistance where the author discusses the concept of structural tension between one’s current reality and their ideal vision.  Frankl, too, writes about this, and both authors see it as a good thing.  We want that tension because one of the basic laws of nature is that tension will try to resolve itself.

This plays itself out in everyday life, unfortunately, we tend to mis-apply it.  I want a new big screen TV.  So I go and buy a new big screen TV.  I may have to scour the sales a bit, or scour Craigslist, but if I want a big screen TV I will find a way to get it.

If we could only use this tension to create a truly mindful and spectacular life…

I used Fritz’s concept of structural tension to write my first songs two years ago when I didn’t really know how to sing or play guitar.  The concept of songwriting seemed too far beyond my skills.  I loved music but I used to sit there wondering why I was born to a family of non-musicians, with monotone voices, many of them tone deaf.  How could I write a song with those circumstances working against me?

Break it down into manageable steps…

To create a structural tension chart, you put your ideal goal at the top of the page and your current reality at the bottom of the page.

You then work backwards from the top of the page and write down each step that precedes it.

So, instead of always keeping your eye on your goal, which can often seem a million miles away from where you are, you keep your eye on the next step.  Each step becomes another mini-goal, just part of the journey.

Of course, your higher purpose may not manifest itself via the medium of songwriting.

Finding Higher Purpose…

But the fact remains that our search for meaning is solved when we find our higher purpose and develop a plan to align our life with that higher purpose.

Let me say that again…

Our search for meaning is solved when we find our higher purpose and develop a plan to align our life with that higher purpose.

While some people have an epiphany regarding their purpose, perhaps due to a positive life-altering situation or a very negative one such as that experienced by Victor Frankl, most of us can’t afford to wait till divine inspiration runs us over like a freight train.

It takes a lot of soul-searching and analyzing to figure out your life’s purpose.  Take a weekend and cancel all of your obligations.  Maybe book a weekend at a relaxing spa and between massages and dips into the saltwater pool, sit there quietly and alone, with a pen and paper and figure out what truly moves you in life.

It make take twenty minutes, or the whole weekend, but you will definitely know it when you’ve defined your life purpose.  If you “think” you’ve hit it or found some that “feels pretty good,” then you’re not there yet.

The simplest process for finding your life’s purpose comes from an article written by Self Development author, Steve Pavlina.  Check this article out before heading off on your weekend spa getaway.

How to Discover Your Life Purpose in about Twenty Minutes

I hesitated posting this article for over a month, due to the parts about Frankl.  The Holocaust is a highly charged emotional situation, and is the greatest symbol in the First World of mass tragedy in the 20th Century (perhaps ever).  I’ve tried to be sensitive to the situation but also tried to bring the point across of how, regardless of any situation, you still have the power to choose your response (they can never take your spirit).  It’s my hope that I’ve crafted my point, inspired by Frankl’s experiences and writing, and not offended anyone affected by those tragic events.  I’ve tried to show that we can be empowered in how we respond to any situation, tragic or otherwise.

The irony, I realize, is that the reader also has a choice of how they respond to this article, regardless of their past experiences, and I can’t control that.  I could have continued to sit on this post, but then I’m not being true to my passion, which is sharing my thoughts through the written word.  And so, that’s why I’ve decided to publish this as is.

In any event, I wish you well.

Venture forth and cultivate your passions…

Tagged as: Life Purpose, Search for Meaning, Steve Pavlina, Structural Tension, Victor Frankl