MAN’S SEARCH FOR MEANING BY VICTOR E. FRANKL Essay

A book Man’s Search For Meaning by Victor Frankl is an interesting reading, which allows to revalue own life and to change existed situation in it to better side. Frankl describes his experiences as a prisoner in terms of a psychiatrist, and gives readers possibility to control everything, because any attempt of restoration of prisoner’s inner strength suggests search for a particular purpose in the future as crucial to the success. Thus, it is necessary to give a personal reflection about this book and its main concepts, ideas and principals.
At the beginning of this paper I want to say that I have a good life, but sometimes, like any person, I have some problems in it, and exactly reading of various interesting books allows me to make some good changes in my life in fast terms. In my personal life, I am a leader, because I am the head of household and basically my mission is to make the money and provide safety and security to my family. My spouse and I live in tandem, because my spouse is a homemaker, while I am the head of our family. Such situation allows us to find compromise and be happy together, but sometimes some pieces of advice such as those given in Frankl’s book help me to become more confident and patient.
It is interesting to dwell on the fact that Frankl’s book is considered to be the foundational reading for leadership in law enforcement. Man’s Search For Meaning helps people to understand that it is not as hard to be a leader as it seems to be, because any person is able to overcome difficulties on own way having a concrete aim of life. It seems to me that a leader is a person who knows how to do four things: to motivate people, to put the tasks and aims, to make the decision, to see the potential in any person. In this context, it becomes understandable that Frankl’s book showed me how to be more purposeful and how to find an aim. Moreover, Frankl realizes the desire of search for meaning and its implementation in human life as an innate motivational tendency inherent in all people, and which is the main driver of behavioral and personal development. Frankl, taking into account many lifelike observations, clinical practice and a variety of empirical data concludes that one must believe in the sense that he possesses his deeds in order to live and be active.
The main aim of the book is not to show readers all difficulties of life as a prisoner, but to guide people on the purpose outward in relation to them, whether it would be work, creativity, love and responsibility for one’s neighbor, and a persistent attitude to suffering and hardship in life as one of the life’s options.
Many statements and ideas given in the book are relevant to me, because they could have application both to my personal and professional life. My professional life is not as save as the life of others, but I like it and I am proud of my job. I have understood that everyone discovers by himself the meaning of his life, and also discovers the way how to be or not to happy. In addition, as it was previously said, I think that I am a leader, and describing this fact I am sure that the leader is a man of action. Any personal qualities are only qualities without their real-life use. It is like life itself – any person may dream about changes in own life, while the leader changes it without dreaming.
Leadership, in fact, has no relation to the interaction with other people; it is the internal state. Leader generally does not need anyone, he is self-sufficient, and that is what makes him a leader, appealing to other people. The presence of followers is only a consequence, but not a source of leadership. If we are going to talk about leadership without the quotes, then this is a state of personal self-sufficiency, plus the presence of a consistent position in the thoughts, actions, lifestyle, etc. In such a way, the leader – is the person, who is natural and inwardly free, who chooses his own way and always remains true to himself.
Frankl answers on many questions about searches for meaning; he professes in his work that the person, who searches for meaning does not ask this question, but he responds to it with real actions. In this context, the role of meaning carry values ​​- universal meaning, which summarizes the experience of mankind. I, as the reader, have learned a lot of interesting facts from Frankl’s autobiographical fragment, and exactly the author knows what happens to a man when he suddenly realizes that there is nothing more to lose except of own ridiculously naked life. Frankl’s description of a mixture of emotion and apathy captures the reader. Firstly, a cold, detached curiosity about own fate came as a help to the prisoner. Soon there are behavioral strategies aimed at preserving own life, although the chances of survival were extremely slim. Hunger, humiliation, fear and indignation against injustice were possible only owing to gently kept images of loved ones, religion, sense of black humor and even to the beauty of nature – a tree or a sunset.
Frankl teaches future leaders that the more one forgets himself, giving himself to serving the important business or love to another human being, the merrier he is a human and the merrier he realizes himself. The concept that is called self-realization should be the main goal of person’s life for a simple reason – the more one pursues it, the more it can be missed. In other words, self-realization is possible as a side effect of ‘going beyond own limits’.
To sum up, the book Man’s Search For Meaning by Victor Frankl gives me a good opportunity to understand that people should stop to ask questions about the meaning of life in personal and professional life, but begin to answer those questions which the life gives them daily and hourly. Our answer to life’s questions must consist of not in talk and meditation, but in right action and right behaviour. In the end, to live means to take responsibility for choosing the correct answer to the problems of life, and fulfill the tasks which it constantly gives to everyone. These problems, and therefore the meaning of life, are different things to different people; they change their nature from one moment to another. In such a way, it is impossible to determine the meaning of life in general, but it is possible to find own one in particular.
In conclusion, I have read the book Man’s Search For Meaning by Victor Frankl, and gave my personal reflection about its main ideas, concepts and beliefs, dwelling on its significant role in the development of leadership.