Summary of Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl Quotes

“It is the spiritual freedom to choose what becomes of us mentally and spiritually that makes life meaningful.”
― FastReads, Summary of Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

“people have enough to live by but nothing to live for; they have the means but no meaning.”
― FastReads, Summary of Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

“as a survivor of four different concentration camps, he has also witnessed man’s ability to bear and defy even the worst conditions imaginable.”
― FastReads, Summary of Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

“anticipatory anxiety. It is a fear of future possibilities”
― FastReads, Summary of Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

“although arguably the most difficult process, also characterizes the unique potential in humanity: to transform a personal tragedy into a triumph of human achievement”
― FastReads, Summary of Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

“the idea that no one has the right to do wrong—no matter what wrong has been done to them.”
― FastReads, Summary of Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

“In fact, suffering provides powerful opportunities to add deeper meaning to life, while also presenting the opportunity to forget one’s dignity and character. While only few people in life are truly capable of reaching such high moral standards, everyone is given ample opportunity. Even for the terminally ill, who have what appears to be nothing left to live for, there is honor and dignity in accepting their fate and destiny with poise. While this idea is easily understood, it is of course incredibly difficult in practice, especially in such extreme conditions as a concentration camp.”
― FastReads, Summary of Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

“it becomes clear that what determined the character of each prisoner was not the result of camp influences alone, but rather the result of an inner decision.”
― FastReads, Summary of Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

“everything in camp life tested their character. They were reduced to objects for extermination and felt more like sheep whose only concerns were for food and avoiding punishments.”
― FastReads, Summary of Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

“more than any other quality of humanity, humor allows one to rise above any situation.”
― FastReads, Summary of Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

“love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which a man can aspire” and that “the salvation of man is through love and in love.” This was a truly transformative thought for Frankl, who realized that even with everything else stripped from his life, a man can endure suffering in an honorable way through loving contemplation of the image he carried of his wife.”
― FastReads, Summary of Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

“He immediately thought that camp life might not be so bad. In psychiatry, this is known as “delusion of reprieve,” and the new prisoners clung to the hope that it would not be so bad.”
― FastReads, Summary of Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

“Forces beyond your control can take away everything you possess except one thing, your freedom to choose how you will respond to the situation.”
― FastReads, Summary of Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl

“Live as if you were living already for the second time and is if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you are about to act now!”
― FastReads, Summary of Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl