Afterpage

Man's Search for Meaning

Viktor E. Frankl

For anyone going through a hard season, or questioning what their work and life are for. It's short but heavy, describing life in Nazi concentration camps, so read it when you have room for it.

A week with this book

A short summary today, then one small action a day for six days. Free for your first book.

Man's Search for Meaning Viktor E. Frankl

Free for your first book. No card. One click to stop.

Day 1

The ideas the week uses

Viktor Frankl, a psychiatrist, survived several Nazi concentration camps and wrote about what helped people endure. His conclusion is that the search for meaning, more than pleasure or power, is what drives people and sustains them through suffering.

  1. The last freedom. Frankl observed that even when everything else is taken, a person can still choose their attitude toward their circumstances. That inner freedom can't be removed by anyone else.
  2. A reason to endure. Prisoners who had something to live for, a person waiting for them or work left to finish, seemed better able to survive. Frankl draws on Nietzsche here: with a reason to live, people can bear almost any way of living.
  3. Three sources of meaning. Frankl described three ways to find meaning: by creating a work or doing a deed, by experiencing something or loving someone, and by the attitude you take toward suffering you can't avoid.
  4. Life asks the question. Frankl suggests reversing the question. Instead of asking what we expect from life, ask what life expects from us, in each specific situation.
  5. Meaning comes as a side effect. Frankl argued that happiness and success can't be pursued directly. They follow when you dedicate yourself to a cause or a person beyond yourself.

Where it overreachesFrankl's account is personal and was written soon after the war, and his conclusions come from his own observation rather than controlled study. The book is not a guide to treating depression or trauma.

Days 2 to 7

How to apply Man's Search for Meaning

10 to 20 minutes each, with a two-minute version for a bad day.

Printable week card (one page)

  1. 2Write your whyWrite down the people, work, and experiences you're living for right now, as specifically as you can.
  2. 3Choose your responsePick one difficult situation you're in and write down the attitude you choose to take toward it.
  3. 4Ask what's being asked of youAt three points today, stop and ask: what does this moment ask of me?
  4. 5Do one deed for someone elseDo one concrete thing for another person today that takes some effort and expects nothing back.
  5. 6Find the meaning in one hardshipWrite about one past hardship and what it gave you that you wouldn't have otherwise.
  6. 7Commit to one meaningful workChoose one piece of work or creation that matters to you and do the first hour, or the next hour, of it this week.

Sample

Day 3, in full

This is what lands in your inbox that morning.

AfterpageDay 3 of 7 · Action

Choose your response

Today’s action · 10 to 20 minutes

Pick one difficult situation you're in and write down the attitude you choose to take toward it.

How

Describe the situation in two lines, including what you can't change. Then write how you want to carry yourself through it: with patience, humor, dignity, care for others. Read it back before you next face the situation.

Why this one

Frankl's central observation was that people retain the freedom to choose their attitude even when they can't choose their circumstances.

If today is a bad day

Write one word for the attitude you'll bring to your hardest situation today.

In short

Questions about this book

Who is Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor E. Frankl for?

For anyone going through a hard season, or questioning what their work and life are for. It's short but heavy, describing life in Nazi concentration camps, so read it when you have room for it.

What are the main ideas in Man's Search for Meaning?

Viktor Frankl, a psychiatrist, survived several Nazi concentration camps and wrote about what helped people endure. His conclusion is that the search for meaning, more than pleasure or power, is what drives people and sustains them through suffering. The last freedom; A reason to endure; Three sources of meaning; Life asks the question; Meaning comes as a side effect.

What do you do in the Afterpage week for Man's Search for Meaning?

Day 1 is a short summary. Then one action a day, each 10 to 20 minutes: Write your why; Choose your response; Ask what's being asked of you; Do one deed for someone else; Find the meaning in one hardship; Commit to one meaningful work. Day 7 also has a recap.

Where does Man's Search for Meaning overreach?

Frankl's account is personal and was written soon after the war, and his conclusions come from his own observation rather than controlled study. The book is not a guide to treating depression or trauma.

What is the first action in the Man's Search for Meaning week?

Write your why. Write down the people, work, and experiences you're living for right now, as specifically as you can. If you only have two minutes: Write the name of one person and one piece of work you're living for.