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If we take a man as he is, we make him worse, but if we take man as he should be we make him capable of becoming what he can be.

Viktor E. Frankl

Happiness cannot be attained by wanting to be happy – it must come as the unintended consequence of working for a goal greater than oneself.
VIKTOR E. FRANKL

Consequences Goal Psychology Unintended
Life requires of man spiritual elasticity, so that he may temper his efforts to the chances that are offered.
VIKTOR E. FRANKL

Effort Men Spiritual
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.
VIKTOR E. FRANKL

Limits Men Self Ultimately
Sunday neurosis, that kind of depression which afflicts people who become aware of the lack of content in their lives when the rush of the busy week is over and the void within themselves becomes manifest.
VIKTOR E. FRANKL

Neurosis People Sunday
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. FRANKL

Life Men Responsibility
At any moment, man must decide, for better or for worse, what will be the monument of his existence.
VIKTOR E. FRANKL

Existence Men Moments
The meaning of our existence is not invented by ourselves, but rather detected.
VIKTOR E. FRANKL

Existence Mans Meaning Search
It isn’t the past which holds us back, it’s the future; and how we undermine it, today.
VIKTOR E. FRANKL

Future Past Today Undermine
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.
VIKTOR E. FRANKL

Become Existence Men Token
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.
VIKTOR E. FRANKL

Condition Confront Decision Faces Giving
It is true that we can see the therapist as a technician only if we have first viewed the patient as some sort of machine.
VIKTOR E. FRANKL

Firsts Machine Patient
There are only two races, the decent and the indecent.
VIKTOR E. FRANKL

Decent Race Two
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. He may turn a personal tragedy into a triumph.
VIKTOR E. FRANKL

Challenges Country Fate Inspirational People Victim
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.
VIKTOR E. FRANKL

Long Running Thinking
But there was no need to be ashamed of tears, for tears bore witness that a man had the greatest of courage, the courage to suffer.
VIKTOR E. FRANKL

Courage Grief Men
Here lies the chance for a man either to make use of or to forgo the opportunities of attaining the moral values that a difficult situation may afford him. And this decides whether he is worthy of his sufferings or not.
VIKTOR E. FRANKL

Afford Lying Men Opportunity Situation

If we take a man as he is, we make him worse, but if we take man as he should be we make him capable of becoming what he can be.

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If we take a man as he is, we make him worse, but if we take man as he should be we make him capable of becoming what he can be.

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