To You Who Don't Know the Meaning of Life: How to Find Meaning, Taught by Frankl's 'Man's Search for Meaning'
"What am I doing this for?"
Waking up to an alarm clock in the morning, being jostled on a crowded train, and sitting in front of a computer.
Finishing the work in front of me,
and repeating the same thing again tomorrow.
One day, a voice suddenly pops into your mind.
"What am I doing this job for?" "Is there any meaning to my life?"
It's not that there is a clear misfortune.
In fact, from the perspective of others,
I might even be considered fortunate.
Yet, in the center of my chest, there is an emptiness like a breeze passing through.
Even if I achieve a goal, the same void returns after a while.
If you are currently feeling such a "void of meaning," the philosophy of a certain psychologist I am about to introduce might provide a little support.
That person's name isViktor Frankl.
He is a person who re-examined the "meaning of life" in extreme situations and left it behind in a book.
In this article, using the ideas from his masterpiece "Man's Search for Meaning" as a clue, we will trace "how to find meaning" as gently as possible.
Frankl and 'Man's Search for Meaning'—What Was Seen in the Midst of Extremity
First, a brief introduction to the person.
Viktor Frankl (1905–1997) was a psychiatrist from Vienna, Austria.
During World War II, as a Jew, he was sent to a Nazi German concentration camp.
He lost most of his family there, including his parents and wife. These are widely known as historical facts.
In the midst of unimaginable days, Frankl continued to stare at a certain question with the eyes of a psychiatrist.
Why did some people get swallowed by despair, while others were able to remain human until the end?.
He writes that the condition for survival was not just physical strength or luck.
Rather, he states that those who were able to hold onto a "future meaning"—the belief that "there is something waiting for me ahead" or "there is something left for me to fulfill"—were more likely to maintain the strength to endure the hardship.future meaning
After the war, he compiled his experiences and reflections into a book called "Man's Search for Meaning".
This book, which in its original title implies "Saying Yes to Life Despite Everything," continues to be read all over the world.
(※ In this article, I will avoid quoting the text and limit it to a summary of the ideas. Please experience the weight of the actual words by reading the book itself.)
Turning the "Direction of Questioning Meaning" Around
The core of Frankl's philosophy lies in the concept he proposed calledLogotherapyという考え方にあります。
Logos is a Greek word for "meaning," and logotherapy can be rephrased as "a way of facing the heart centered on meaning".
While Freud saw "pleasure" and Adler saw "power" as the major motivations for humans, Frankl believed that the "
heart that seeks meaning (will to meaning)" is what truly moves humans.
Furthermore, he turns our way of questioning itself
completely around.
Usually, we ask, "What will life give me?" or "What is the meaning of this life?"
We demand an answer from life.
However, Frankl says the direction is reversed.
It is life that is doing the questioning.Life is asking me through the situations of the moment, "How will you live now?" and I answer that with my own actions; this is his central idea.
Since it is difficult to understand, let's use an analogy.
If you think of meaning as something you "go out to find" like a treasure hidden far away, you will remain
empty forever as long as you don't find it.
However, in Frankl's view, meaning is already present in the
questions that the situation in front of you is presenting to you at this very moment.
Therefore, even if you don't find a grand mission, if you answer one by one what is required of you "now," the accumulation of that
becomes the meaning itself.
He liked to quote Nietzsche.
It is a sentiment that goes, "He who has a why to live can bear almost any how."
If you have even one reason to live (why), you can overcome difficult situations (how).
Three Places Where Meaning Resides
So, where exactly can that meaning be found? Frankl organized the paths to encountering meaning into three main categories.
Technically, they are called "values".
Creative Values
Meaning that resides in what you create or offer to the world through your actions.
Work, art, or deeds for the sake of others.
This is the direction from yourself to the world.
Experiential Values
Meaning that resides in what you receive from the world by experiencing or accepting something.
Beautiful scenery, music, and loving someone.
This is the direction from the world to yourself.
Attitudinal Values
Meaning that resides in the attitude you take when facing suffering that cannot be changed.
This is the most unique part of Frankl's philosophy.
It is the idea that even if you cannot change the situation itself, you can choose your own 'stance' toward it until the very end, and meaning remains there.
Here, I would like to add one important note.
Frankl does not say that you 'should suffer.'
He clearly states that if a suffering can be avoided, it is more meaningful to remove its cause.
Attitudinal values are only called into question when
the suffering is unavoidable no matter what. If you misunderstand this distinction, it can lead to the misinterpretation that 'it is noble to endure even when it is painful,' so I want to be careful about that.
Points of overlap with modern psychology
Interestingly, Frankl's idea of 'making meaning the axis' is connected to subsequent psychology.
I will not go into detailed theories here, but will only briefly touch upon the similarities.
Recent positive psychology emphasizes 'meaning and purpose in life' as one of the elements that support happiness. It is a perspective that meaning supports the parts that cannot be satisfied by pleasure or success alone.
Also, in a psychotherapy called ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy), acting in accordance with the 'values' you hold dear is considered important.
Determining what is meaningful to you and walking in that direction—this stance resonates somewhat with Frankl's will to meaning.
Of course, Frankl's philosophy and modern psychology are not exactly the same.
However, the insight that 'humans are creatures who need meaning' seems to have been confirmed repeatedly across generations.
How would Frankl answer the 'sense of meaninglessness in work'?
From here, I will think about this by focusing firmly on the place where many people stumble most: the sense of meaninglessness in work.
In modern times, more people feel that they 'don't know what the meaning of their work is.'
Like a small cog in a large organization, it feels the same whether you are there or not.
You cannot feel who you are helping.
Such 'emptiness of work' strikes even diligent workers at unexpected moments.
Frankl's perspective provides an angle here.
In his view,
meaning is not attached to the 'type' of work. It is not that a glamorous job has meaning and menial work is meaningless.
Meaning resides in 'who you are offering what to' through that work, in other words, in creative values.
Therefore, the question changes from 'Does this work have meaning?' to '
Through this work, who and what am I answering to today?'
For example, even in the task of processing slips of paper, there is someone on the other end who will correctly receive their salary.
Unnoticed confirmation work might be preventing someone's mistake or accident.
If you seek meaning only in a 'great mission,' you won't find it, but if you stand from the perspective that 'one action in front of you is reaching someone somewhere,' the outline of work that seemed meaningless begins to look a little different.
However, I will also speak honestly.
No matter how much you change your perspective, there are times for everyone when results are not recognized and efforts are not rewarded. In such 'helpless' situations, attitudinal values become effective.
Even if you cannot change the situation itself right away, the stance you take toward it remains with you.
Whether you become cynical and give up, or maintain your own posture, meaning remains in that choice.
Another thing: if you open social media, everyone around you seems to be doing 'meaningful work,' and you might feel left behind.
But in Frankl's view, meaning is not something to be measured by comparing yourself to others.
What life is asking of you is for you to answer to your own unique situation, and no one else's, for you to answer to your own unique situation.
When you put down the yardstick of comparison,
you can see your own unique question.
Small habits you can start today to find meaning
Frankl's philosophy is better suited to being felt through small, daily re-evaluations than to being understood intellectually. Please start with whatever seems easy to do without pressure.
Change the direction of your question —When you feel like asking, "What will life give me?", try re-asking, "What is being asked of me right now?" From the side that demands answers to the side that provides them. Just by changing your orientation, movement is born.
Recall one person you were useful to today — Whether it's work or housework, try to find one small fact at the end of the day that you can say, "This action reached someone somewhere" (Creative Values).
Take one moment to savor something — The aroma of coffee, the color of the sky, your favorite music, a conversation with someone dear to you. Meaning also resides in the joy of receiving (Experiential Values).
Choose your "attitude" in situations you cannot change — When you encounter something you cannot do anything about, try remembering, "I cannot change the situation, but I can choose the stance with which I face it" (Attitudinal Values).
Write down one of your "whys" — "Why do I continue doing this?" Try putting one reason into words. It doesn't have to be big. Just having one small "why" becomes the strength to overcome a difficult "how."
Conclusion—Meaning is something you notice, not something you search for
What Frankl's philosophy teaches us is that
meaning is not a treasure hidden somewhere far away.
It is already present in the questions that the situation right in front of you is offering you at this very moment.
Therefore, even if you cannot find a grand mission, it is okay not to be impatient.
Respond to one small thing today.
The accumulation of that will, before you know it, become "the meaning of the life you lived."
Meaning is something you notice rather than something you hunt down. Today, first, please gently try changing the direction of your question to, "What is being asked of me right now?"
Furthermore, if you feel a very strong sense of emptiness or difficulty in living, and feel that it is painful to get through the days, please do not try to carry it all alone with just this article.
Consulting with a professional or someone you trust is not a sign of weakness, but a choice to value yourself.
Please keep in a corner of your heart that there are places you can rely on.
Philosophy is not a difficult academic discipline for a select few.
When you are lost, when you stop in your tracks, it is a "thinking tool" for living in your own way.
In this note, based on Eastern philosophy, Western philosophy, and psychology, I will deliver hints to lighten the burdens of us living in the modern age.
I hope that those who suffer from anxiety, those who are HSP, or those who are not in good mental health will read this and find even a little relief from their anxiety.
Please be sure to save this article.
May it become "your map" for when you are lost.