Searching for Meaning in Uncertain Times

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We’re living in some crazy times right now. Everywhere you turn there’s a new report about the COVID19 pandemic and how it’s spreading around the globe. I’m a “glass half full” type of person, but it certainly seems like this will get worse before it gets better. It’s natural to be feeling some fear in the midst of all this uncertainty.

I’ve recently finished two books, based on true stories during World War 2. The lessons from these books have helped me maintain perspective during these turbulent times.

The first, titled “Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand, chronicles the story of Louis Zamperini. Louis was a runner who participated in the Berlin Olympics and then became an airman. During the war, his plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean and he was stranded on a raft for 47 days. Later, he endured two years of horrific treatment in Japanese prison camps. Through the suffering and hardship, he displayed incredible perseverance and resiliency, never losing hope that he would someday be reunited with his family.

The second is a well known book titled “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor Frankl, about his experience enduring years in Nazi death camps in Germany during the Holocaust. During this time he developed a revolutionary approach to psychotherapy, called logotherapy. At the core of his theory is the belief that man’s primary motivational force is his search for meaning.

At times, both of these books had topics that were difficult to read about, albeit important to remember. Here are some of my takeaways (all quotes from “Man’s Search for Meaning”):

How we respond to hardship

“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”

“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.”

In other words, control what we can control. During difficult or uncertain times, it’s best for us to focus on being the best people we can be. We can’t control when this virus will be cured or when life will return to normal, but we can control our attitudes and optimism.

Find your purpose

“Those who have a ‘why’ to live, can bear with almost any ‘how’.”

“In some ways suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of a sacrifice.”

What is your purpose in life? Dr. Frankl is saying that when you know what your purpose is in life, you’re able to bear any hardships you may face. This is what helped him endure the suffering he faced in the Nazi camps.

My faith is what gives me my purpose in life, and helps guide how I live. I try to go through life with a joyful heart, pursuing my passions, and surrounding myself with the people I love. This may look different for you, but I’d encourage you to think through it.

Choose your own path

“Man does not simply exist but always decides what his existence will be, what he will become the next moment. By the same token, every human being has the freedom to change at any instant.”

“Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual.”

We are responsible for our direction in life, and we also have the ability to pivot and go a different direction.

Finding meaning in achievement

“Thus it can be seen that mental health is based on a certain degree of tension, the tension between what one has already achieved and what one still ought to accomplish, or the gap between what one is and what one should become.”

This gap between what he have already achieved and what we still have left to accomplish is motivating. Dr. Frankl says that the pursuit of closing this gap brings meaning to life.“

Three avenues to meaning

“As logotherapy teaches, there are three main avenues on which one arrives at meaning in life. The first is by creating a work or by doing a deed. The second is by experiencing something or encountering someone; in other words, meaning can be found not only in work but also in love…Most important, however, is the third avenue to meaning in life: even the helpless victim of a hopeless situation, facing a fate he cannot change, may rise above himself, may grow beyond himself, and by so doing change himself.”

Dr. Frankl discusses that the three avenues to finding meaning in life are: through work, love, and personal growth. I read through this passage multiple times, there’s a lot to unpack. Ultimately, if we focus on these three areas I think our lives will have more purpose and contentment. Working hard on our life’s calling, loving and serving the people around us, and growing to be more well-rounded individuals.

Final Thoughts

Overall, we’re living in some unprecedented times and it’s natural to feel fearful or maybe even hopeless. I don’t mean to make light of whatever you are feeling. However, I found these lessons to be inspiring. Even in the midst of horrible treatments and potential death, both of these men were able to show perseverance, resiliency, and optimism. My hope for all of us is that we can do the same.

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