40+ Viktor Frankl Quotes From The Psychiatrist And Holocaust Survivor
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Viktor E Frankl was an eminent psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor.
Frankl believed that happiness without thinking characterized a relatively superficial life. He believed that one's thoughts should play a big role in his or her happiness.
A lot of Frankl's philosophy surrounded the idea of the meaning of life. He believed that to reach a stage where individuals consider the purpose of living, take responsibility for a better living and aim for success, is the meaning of life.
And he argued that purposeful work, love, and courage were the three main sources of meaning in life.
If you love Viktor Frankl quotes, you will also like these inspirational quotes by [Carl Rogers] and Alfred Adler.
Viktor E Frankl Quotes On Love
Viktor E Frankl had good faith in love, and he believed that love was essential for sustaining life. Here are some quotes by Viktor Frankl on love.
1. "For the first time in my life I saw the truth as it is set into song by so many poets, proclaimed as the final wisdom by so many thinkers. The truth - that Love is the ultimate and highest goal to which man can aspire."
-Viktor Frankl.
2. "Love is the only way to grasp another human being in the innermost core of his personality. No one can become fully aware of the very essence of another human being unless he loves him."
-Viktor Frankl.
3. "... the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing."
-Viktor Frankl.
Viktor E Frankl Quotes On Suffering
Another human condition that affected Viktor E Frankl's life was suffering. Here are some quotes on suffering that Viktor E Frankl wrote.
4. "To draw an analogy: a man’s suffering is similar to the behavior of a gas. If a certain quantity of gas is pumped into an empty chamber, it will fill the chamber completely and evenly, no matter how big the chamber."
-Viktor Frankl.
5. "Forces beyond your control can take away everything you possess except one thing, your freedom to choose how you will respond to the situation."
-Viktor Frankl.
6. "In some ways suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of a sacrifice."
-Viktor Frankl.
7. "It is not freedom from conditions, but it is freedom to take a stand toward the conditions."
-Viktor Frankl.
8. "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 Frankl.
9. "An abnormal reaction to an abnormal situation is normal behavior."
-Viktor Frankl.
10. "To suffer unnecessarily is masochistic rather than heroic."
-Viktor Frankl.
11. "If there is meaning in life at all, then there must be meaning in suffering. Suffering is an ineradicable part of life, even as fate and death."
-Viktor Frankl.
12. "What is to give light must endure burning."
-Viktor Frankl.
Viktor E Frankl Quotes On Happiness
Happiness is an important part of our lives. Here are some Viktor E Frankl quotes on happiness.
13. "Success, like happiness, is the unexpected side effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself."
-Viktor Frankl.
14. "To the European, it is a characteristic of the American culture that, again and again, one is commanded and ordered to 'be happy'."
-Viktor Frankl.
15. "Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it."
-Viktor Frankl.
16. "For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself."
-Viktor Frankl.
Viktor E Frankl Quotes On Life
There is a lot to learn from life, and these Viktor E Frankl quotes can help you in that, because you can learn a lot from his quotes. Here are some Viktor E Frankl quotes on life.
17. "A man's concern, even his despair, over the worthwhileness of life is an existential distress but by no means a mental disease."
-Viktor Frankl.
18. “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.”
-Viktor Frankl.
19. "View life as a series of movie frames, the ending and meaning may not be apparent until the very end of the movie, and yet, each of the hundreds of individual frames has meaning within the context of the whole movie."
-Viktor Frankl.
20. "The point is not what we expect from life, but rather what life expects from us."
-Viktor Frankl.
21. "Each of us carries a unique spark of the divine, and each of us is also an inseparable part of the web of life."
-Viktor Frankl.
22. "We can discover this meaning in life in three different ways: 1. by doing a deed; 2. by experiencing a value; and 3. by suffering."
-Viktor Frankl.
23. "Man’s main concern is not to gain pleasure or to avoid pain but rather to see a meaning in his life."
-Viktor Frankl.
24. "Our greatest human freedom is that, despite whatever our physical situation is in life, we are always free to choose our thoughts!"
-Viktor Frankl.
25. "Each man is questioned by life, and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life, he can only respond by being responsible."
-Viktor Frankl.
26. "Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather must recognize that it is he who is asked."
-Viktor Frankl.
27. "We who lived in a concentration camp can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread."
-Viktor Frankl.
28. "Love goes very far beyond the physical person of the beloved. It finds its deepest meaning in its spiritual being, his inner self. Whether or not he is actually present, whether or not he is still alive at all, ceases somehow to be of importance."
-Viktor Frankl.
Meaningful Viktor E Frankl Quotes
Viktor Frankl spent time living in concentration camps which undoubtedly influenced his thoughts on human thought and life. Viktor Frankl 'Man's Search For Meaning' quotes certainly show this. Here are some Viktor E Frankl quotes on the different emotions of life.
29. "Live as if you were living a second time, and as though you had acted wrongly the first time."
-Viktor Frankl.
30. "When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves."
-Viktor Frankl.
31. "Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response."
-Viktor Frankl.
32. "For the meaning of life differs from man to man, from day to day and from hour to hour."
-Viktor Frankl.
33. "In our response lies our growth and our freedom."
-Viktor Frankl.
34. "The more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it."
-Viktor Frankl.
35. "When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves."
-Viktor Frankl.
36. "Our greatest freedom is the freedom to choose our attitude."
-Viktor Frankl.
37. "Happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue. One must have a reason to be happy."
-Viktor Frankl.
38. "Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose."
-Viktor Frankl.
39. "I do not forget any good deed done to me and I do not carry a grudge for a bad one."
-Viktor Frankl.
40. "A man who becomes conscious of the responsibility he bears toward a human being who affectionately waits for him."
-Viktor Frankl.
Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly and inspirational quotes for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for Viktor Frankl quotes, why not look at these Sigmund Freud quotes or [Anti-war quotes] for more inspirational quotes?
Main image credit: Natata / Shutterstock.com
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A professional content writer hailing from Kolkata, India, with extensive experience in the corporate sector, Writvik Gupta has worked with several reputed companies, including ITC WelcomHotel Jodhpur, Bharti AXA Life Insurance, Aryan Imaging, and Eduquity. He also serves as a consultant for a startup based in Bangalore. With a passion for the outdoors, Writvik enjoys trekking and traveling to remote destinations. He also has a keen interest in exploring various cuisines and regularly volunteers for social causes.
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