Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart: The salvation of man is through love and in love.
Viktor E. FranklRead
To the European, it is a characteristic of the American culture that, again and again, one is commanded and ordered to 'be happy.' But happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue. One must have a reason to 'be happy.' Once the reason is found, however, one becomes happy automatically. As we see, a human being is not one in pursuit of happiness but rather in search of a reason to become happy, last but not least, through actualizing the potential meaning inherent and dormant in a given situation.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Happiness is not something that can be chased; it results from finding meaning in life.
Viktor E. Frankl emphasizes that happiness is a byproduct of living meaningfully rather than a goal to be pursued directly. He suggests that individuals should focus on understanding their purpose and reasons in life, which naturally leads to a state of happiness as a result of fulfilling one's potential and comprehending the deeper meanings inherent in experiences.
Themes
HappinessMeaningPurposePotentialLife
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech discussing the meaning of life.
More from Viktor E. Frankl
All quotes →The crowning experience of all, for the homecoming man, is the wonderful feeling that, after all he has suffered, there is nothing he need fear anymore—except his God.
Viktor E. FranklRead
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.
Viktor E. FranklRead
It is the pursuit of happiness that thwarts happiness.
Viktor E. FranklRead
Logotherapy sees the human patient in all his humanness. I step up to the core of the patient's being. And that is a being in search of meaning, a being that is transcending himself, a being capable of acting in love for others.
Viktor E. FranklRead
The more one forgives himself - by giving himself to a cause to serve or another person to love - the more human he is and the more he actualizes himself.
Viktor E. FranklRead
Similar quotes
Archetypes, in spite of their conservative nature, are not static but in a continuous dramatic flux. Thus the self as a monad or continuous unit would be dead. But it lives inasmuch as it splits and unites again. There is no energy without opposites!
Carl JungRead
The Noble Eight-Fold Path is the path of living in awareness. Mindfulness is the foundation. By practicing mindfulness, you can develop concentration, which enables you to attain understanding. Thanks to right concentration, you realize right awareness, thoughts, speech, action, livelihood and effort. The understanding which develops can liberate you from every shackle of suffering and give birth to true peace and joy.
Nhat HanhRead
I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.
Mahatma GandhiRead
No man is such a conqueror, as the one that has defeated himself.
Henry Ward BeecherRead
I hold that without truth and nonviolence there can be nothing but destruction of humanity.
Mahatma GandhiRead
It is very easy to overestimate the importance of our own achievements in comparison with what we owe others.
Dietrich BonhoefferRead