📖 A short Summary
One of the most famous and most groundbreaking books of the 20th century, this Viktor Frankl book was first published in 1946. Several editions have been released since then which shows the impact of this book that has sold over 12 million copies in several languages. Dr. Frankl provides us a different perspective to look at suffering and pain through this book. It's a book about survival, suffering, love, hope, longing, etc.
To conclude in a line, it's an analysis of the human psyche in adverse conditions through a psychologist's eye.
🌤️Core Messages
- He who has a WHY to live can bear almost any HOW.
- There are forces beyond your control that can take away everything you have, except your freedom to respond to the situation.
- Our consciousness of our inner values is anchored in higher, more spiritual things which cannot be shaken easily. But very few people possess it.
- The striving to find meaning in one's life is the primary motivational force in us.
- Man's Salvation is through love and in love.
- Being free may become another act of randomness if we don't live responsibly.
😇 Whom It Can Benefit
- People who are struggling to come to terms with something bad that has happened in their life.
- People who have lost all hope in life/ are feeling low.
- People interested in human psychology and Logotherapy.
3️⃣ Actionable Insights
- There will be some form of struggle in life always. Be accepting of that, work on it, and move forward.
- When faced with hardships, see the opportunity in it rather than difficulties.
- Don't make pleasure the goal. Treat it as a by-product. Chasing pleasure alone spoils and destroys it.
🥰 What I loved In This Book
- I had read this book during the first Covid lockdown in 2020. It made me realise that we're already living a better world.
- It helped me to cope with my emotions and the ongoing negativity that was rampant during Covid.
- I loved Dr. Frankl's way of thinking, the way he articulated his thoughts, and his Logotherapy theory. It's even more mind-boggling when we realise the circumstances in which he made those observations and then jotted them down when he escaped the concentration camps. It's not easy.
🏗️ How I'm implementing
- After reading this book, I started counting my blessings and writing a gratitude journal as well. Because as free citizens, we can only imagine the horrors that people in concentration camps went through. It was a big realization.
- By facing and surviving difficult situations, we become liberated.
- I started accepting people for who they are. Afterall, It was humans who invented the concentration camps, and it was human who entered those camps with god's name on their lips.
- I stopped being unhappy over small things and started accepting things as they are. I'm not successful always, but will try to reach that level someday soon.
🌇 Concluding thoughts
I believe, it is a book that every young person should read ( Others should also read, but mainly young people). With the world being so dynamic, it's also important to go inwards and realize a few fundamental things which we usually don't. The book has many one liners that are thought-provoking. I always re-read my Kindle highlights of this book. One of those timeless classics for me.