Mans Search for Meaning

Host: Imagine being stripped of everything that means the most to you. Being held captive in a concentration camp can be considered the cruelest punishment for being born a certain way. Dr. Viktor Frankl was forced into a concentration camp for being Jewish. He came to many realizations about the many human emotions during this most excruciating period of his life. His respected outlook on life can be viewed from every angle imaginable and is followed by most of the world. Tonight he is here to share his insight with you to help you lead a more fulfilled life.

Frankl: Throughout my life I have been through enough tyranny to make me appreciate the little things, the things that we take for granted. “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing; the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way" (27). By choosing the right attitude in a situation you can really help to make the circumstances better. For instance, say that you got into a fender bender. Yelling, screaming and just being obnoxious in general is not going to help the situation. By staying calm and respectful you can get through that mess very shortly. Throughout my novel, Man’s Search for Meaning, I mention repeatedly the one freedom in which I believe no one can take from you. “The last of human freedoms - the ability to chose one's attitude in a given set circumstances." This means that no matter what situation a person might be in, they always have the option to choose their attitude towards the current circumstances. If you choose to have a negative outlook on life during a bad moment, then that moment will only become more stressful. It makes more sense to try and relieve some of this stress by choosing to keep a positive attitude. Always look on the brighter side of things because a situation is only as bad as you make it. There are several instances in the book where this useful bit of advice is applied and it’s amazing how much it can help a situation. Think about your attitude next time when you’re caught up in stressful situation. I guarantee if you remain calm and keep a positive attitude things will get a whole lot better.

Today we are a society strongly based upon materialism. Sometimes it seems we can loose track of what is really important in our lives. Materialistic items should not take precedence over our loved ones. Sometimes without these materialistic items we feel alone and not loved. But "Those who have a 'why' to live, can bear with almost any 'how.'”(68) Forget all your materialistic junk and think about what matters most in your life, something that you can’t live without. I know that in my case without friends and family I’d be nowhere. That’s why I give them the respect that they deserve. I don’t know what I’d do without my friends and family so I stay loyal to them through thick and thin. I think that