Man's Search for Meaning

Woe to him who saw no more sense in his life, no aim, no purpose, and therefore no point in carrying on. He was soon lost. The typical reply with which such a man rejected all encouraging arguments was, “I have nothing to expect from life any more.” What sort of answer can one give to that?

Viktor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning

Man’s purpose in life is to find meaning for himself. What specifically that meaning is differs for each person, and even the same person will seek a different meaning at different times in his life. The meaning that one seeks in life is of little significance to any “higher purpose in life” that some might argue people have; all that matters is that he finds something in life that gives him a meaning to exist, in hopes that he will finally achieve his goals.

The most interesting and insightful human-interest profiles of people focus on how the subjects have brought meaning into their lives. When somebody writes about how he has brought meaning to his own life, we call that an autobiography. So, at age 17, I guess I’m going to begin brainstorming for my autobiography? Cool, Ms. Kimball. Here are a few ways I’ve brought meaning into my life (to all of you non-logotherapists: we’ll examine shortly through these examples what I mean by “meaning”).

The single aspect of my life that is currently bringing me the most meaning—at 4:15 pm on this fine Sunday afternoon—is my work on The Trident. I love reading what my friends write and sharing my feedback. As scary as this sounds, it brightens my day. And, when an issue comes out okay after weeks of toil, arguments, and missed deadlines, that’s rewarding for me personally—that’s one way that I bring meaning to my life.

Reluctantly, I must admit that the second most meaningful aspect of my life during mid-October is my college application. Like The Trident, this task gives me a high goal to work towards. But let’s talk about happier, more relaxing things. Seriously.

Photography! Of course, it’s just a hobby, but it’s rewarding. My ever-expanding experience in photography helps identify me as an individual. And, I’ll be honest, when I get a few good shots here and there, it feels good to get a bit of praise thrown my way.

Love brings meaning to my life: love for family, and love for friends. Building and maintaining relationships can at times be hard, but it is an instinctive goal in life for all human beings.

The desire to succeed in school academically brings meaning to my life. Studying for a test in hopes of doing well on it gives me something to live for, a goal to work towards with my life.

I’m the type of person who (tries to) go to sleep late and wake up early. But when that alarm is going off, sometimes it’s like my Reticular Activating System just cynically says to itself, “What’s the point? Why should one bother being awake when one could just sleep?”

On those late nights when I have to wake up extra-early the next morning, I find it helpful to put a post-it note on my alarm clock. On the note I write the reason that I have to get up early, usually something along the lines of “Finish the Trident,” “Talk to some teacher about college recommendation/essay,” “Photograph the sunrise,” “Bring sick parent hot tea and saltines before I leave for school,” or “Go in early for extra help with Coach Jacobs.”

This strategy really does work much of the time, and I find myself sleeping through my alarm less often when I use the post-it method for waking myself.

For some reason, it’s a lot easier to wake up when one has a reason to wake up. And, it’s a lot easier to live when one has a meaning to live. Frankl describes a “fatal condition” of what American POW’s referred to as “give-up-itis”—when a man sees no hope of ever accomplishing a worthwhile goal, he will either die of this disease, or the symptoms of the disease will drive the man to kill himself.

In the post-it note example, motivators like the several I mentioned are the thoughts that give me strength to get out of bed each morning. From a wider perspective, these motivators are my meaning in life; they cause me to want to live each day.