3 Ways Viktor Frankl Inspired Me to Deal With Adversity

Everyone, at one point or another, goes through difficult times in their life.

Viktor Frankl was born in Austria in 1905, spent three years in a Nazi concentration camp, and eventually founded logotherapy. He led an incredible life, and I would never have heard of him if it wasn’t for his book, A Man’s Search for Meaning.

It was through this book that I learned some very important lessons about how to deal with adversity in life. Now, let’s make one thing very clear: nothing in my life (nor probably in your own) will ever compare to the horrors Frankl experienced in the Nazi camps. But as he tells us in his book, there’s something everyone can learn from his experiences.

The book is structured into two distinct parts.

In the first, he talks about his experiences in the camps, the things he saw, and what he and other prisoners felt throughout the experience. There was misery, there was laughter, there was pain, and there were even moments of peace.

The second is his introduction to logotherapy, which believes that the most important aspect of a man’s life is finding meaning in life. The second part sometimes gets a little technical, but Frankl interweaves some personal and professional (he was also a therapist) experiences that make everything crystal clear.

But one thing stood out for me in this book and really hit home for me: how he looks at his experiences in the camp and the meaning he derives from them. From his book, I learned three things about dealing with adversity:

Adversity is a Unique, Sacred Opportunity

In his book, Frankl talks about moments of adversity as opportunities. How often does someone get imprisoned in a concentration camp? Not very. Think of the worst possible thing that’s ever happened to you and ask yourself, “How rare was it?”

Instead of seeing these moments as terrible things that we must overcome, why not use them as tests? Have you ever wondered how strong you really are? How kind you could be? How generous you could be? These types of moments give us a chance to see what we’re really made of.

They test us and sometimes only through these tests do we really learn about ourselves and who we are.

The way in which a man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails, the way in which he takes up the cross, gives him ample opportunity—even under the most difficult circumstances—to add a deeper meaning to his life. It may remain brave, dignified and unselfish. Or in the bitter fight for self-preservation he may forget his human dignity and become no more than an animal. 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.

One of the worst things that’s happened to me (and it’s really not that bad) was a serious jaw surgery I underwent some years ago. There was pain, stress, and a pinch of despair. But I was a really good patient. I also learned to listen (I couldn’t talk, which helped).

This type of procedure is very rare, and it showed me the kind of person I am capable of being when stripped of my chattery mouth and upbeat personality. What I saw was someone else entirely, but still someone I was “OK” with.

So the next time something “terrible” happens—be it a slip-up at work, a break up with a significant other, or some other event that shakes your universe—look at it as an opportunity to see what you’re made of. Of enduring with dignity and class.

As Frankl said, when all was stripped of the prisoners and they knew they were going to die, they went into the gas chambers with their heads held high.

The Power of Humor

You wouldn’t expect to hear a lot about humor in a book that talks about life in a concentration camp, would you? Well, Frankl singles it out because it was one of the main ways the prisoners dealt with the situation:

Humor was another of the soul’s weapons in the fight for self-preservation. It is well know that humor, more than anything else in the human make-up, can afford an aloofness and an ability to rise above any situation, even if only for a few seconds.

If humor has a place in Nazi concentration camps, then it’s clear we can all use a little more of it in our everyday lives. So laugh a little at work: it’s good for you.

The Importance of Setting Goals

Personal-finance sites talk about the importance of setting goals all the time, and it makes sense if you really want to get things done. But did you know that setting goals can save your life? Frankl mentions certain prisoners that gave up—it entailed no longer setting goals. Goals to see family members, friends, etc. They simply stopped seeing the possibility of anything worthwhile happening in the future.

None of them knew when they would get out (which was understandable maddening), but these prisoners no longer cared about the future and they typically died a couple of days later.

The lesson here? Set goals—they’ll give you something to live for.

I may or may not have described Frankl, his book, and his philosophy very well, but I highly recommend his book. It’s a quick read and you won’t regret it.