From Viktor Frankl's book, Man's Search for Meaning

Viktor Frankl survived imprisonment in a concentration camp during the holocaust. He established a school of psychological thought termed Logotherapy from his experiences both before and during this time. This really is a stellar book.

"[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." (p.66)

"It is a peculiarity of man that he can only live by looking to the future.....And this is his salvation in the most difficult moments of his existence, although he sometimes has to force his mind to the task." (p.73)

"[Any] attempt to restore a man's inner strength in the camp had first to succeed in showing him some future goal. [Nietzsche's words, 'He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.']" (p.76)

"What we really needed was a fundamental change in our attitude toward life. We had to learn ourselves and, furthermore, we had to teach despairing men, that it did not really matter what we expected, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life -- daily and hourly. Our answer must consist, not in talk and meditation, but in right act and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual. These tasks, and therefore the meaning of life, differ from man to man, and from moment to moment. Thus it is impossible to define the meaning of life in a general way." (p.76/77)

"When a man finds that it is his destiny to suffer, he will have to accept his suffering as his task; his single and unique task. He will have to acknowledge the fact that even in suffering he is unique and alone in the universe. No one can relieve him of his suffering or suffer in his place. His unique opportunity lies in the way in which he bears his burden." (p.77)

"But there is no need to be ashamed of tears, for tears bear witness that a man had the greatest of courage, the courage to suffer." (p.78)

"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." (p.80)

"[Mental] health is based on a certain degree of tension, the tension between what one has already achieved and what one still ought to accomplish, or the gap between what one is and what one should become. Such a tension is inherent in the human being and therefore is indispensable to mental well-being." (p.104)

"[Do] not be afraid to create a sound amount of tension through a reorientation toward the meaning of one's life." (p.105)

"In a word, 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." (p.109)

"It is...up to the patient to decide whether he should interpret his life task as being responsible to society or to his own conscious." (p.110)

The meaning of suffering:

"When we are no longer able to change a situation -- just think of an incurable disease such as inoperable cancer -- we are challenged to change ourselves." (p.112)

"In some way, suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of sacrifice." (p.113)

"If it were avoidable...the meaningful thing to do would be to remove its cause. To suffer unnecessarily is masochistic rather than heroic." (p.113)

Logotherapy:

"As Logotherapy teaches, there are three main avenues on which one arrives at meaning in life. The first is by creating a work or by doing a deed. The second is by experiencing something or encountering someone; in other words, meaning can be found not only in work but also in love.....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." (p.145/146)

"[The] priority stays with creatively changing the situation that causes us to suffer. But the superiority goes to 'know how to suffer' if need be." (p.148)

Frankl:

"I do not forget any good deed done to me, and I do not carry a grudge for a bad one." (p.162)

Transcend anything by making responsible choices.

"His approach to psychotherapy stressed the importance of helping people to reach new heights of personal meaning through self-transcendence: the application of positive effort, technique, acceptance of limitations, and wise decisions. His goal was to provoke people into realizing that they can and should exercise their capacity for choice to achieve their own goals." (p.164)

"The world is in a bad state, but everything will become worse unless each of us does his best." (p.164)

"The meaning of [Frankl's] life was to help others find the meaning of theirs." (p.165)