A man who becomes conscious of the responsibility he bears toward a human being who affectionately waits for him, or to an unfinished work, will never be able to throw away his life. He knows the “why” for his existence, and will be able to bear almost any “how.”
VIKTOR E. FRANKLThis is the core of the human spirit … If we can find something to live for – if we can find some meaning to put at the center of our lives – even the worst kind of suffering becomes bearable.
More Viktor E. Frankl Quotes
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The meaning of our existence is not invented by ourselves, but rather detected.
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It is a peculiarity of man that he can only live by looking to the future.
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Life requires of man spiritual elasticity, so that he may temper his efforts to the chances that are offered.
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Ultimately, we are not subject to the conditions that confront us; rather, these conditions are subject to our decision … we must decide whether we will face up or give in, whether or not we will let ourselves be determined by the conditions.
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Happiness cannot be attained by wanting to be happy – it must come as the unintended consequence of working for a goal greater than oneself.
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A human being is a deciding being.
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It is not freedom from conditions, but it is freedom to take a stand toward the conditions.
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A human being is not one thing among others; things determine each other, but man is ultimately self-determining. What he becomes-within the limits of endowment and environment-he has made out of himself.
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The angels are lost in perpetual contemplation of an infinite glory.
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I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long run- in the long run, I say! – success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think of it.
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You don’t create your mission in life – you detect it.
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It is always important to have something yet to do in life.
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What was really needed was a fundamental change in our attitude toward life. We had to learn ourselves and, furthermore, we had to teach the despairing men, that it did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us.
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It is the pursuit of happiness that thwarts happiness.
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It isn’t the past which holds us back, it’s the future; and how we undermine it, today.
VIKTOR E. FRANKL







