Viktor Frankl - Existence Quotes

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Only to the extent that someone is living out this self-transcendence of human existence, is he truly human or does he become his true self. He becomes so, not by concerning himself with his self's actualization, but by forgetting himself and giving himself, overlooking himself and focusing outward.

Viktor Frankl
The meaning of our existence is not invented by ourselves, but rather detected.

Viktor Frankl
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."

Viktor Frankl
Man does not simply exist but always decides what his existence will be, what he will become the next moment. By the same token, every human being has the freedom to change at any instant.

Viktor Frankl
At any moment, man must decide, for better or for worse, what will be the monument of his existence.

Viktor Frankl
A man who could not see the end of his"provisional existence" was not able to aim at an ultimate goal in life.

Viktor Frankl
The struggle for existence is a struggle 'for' something; it is purposeful and only in so being is it meaningful and able to bring meaning into life.

Viktor Frankl
Thus, human existence-at least as long as it has not been neurotically distorted-is always directed to something, or someone, other than itself, be it a meaning to fulfill or another human being to encounter lovingly.

Viktor Frankl
Somewhere I heard a victorious "Yes" in answer to my question of the existence of ultimate purpose.

Viktor Frankl
In psychiatry there is a certain condition known as delusion of reprieve. The condemned man, immediately before his execution, gets the illusion that he might be reprieved at the very last minute. No one could yet grasp the fact that everything would be taken away. all we possessed, literally, was our naked existence.

Viktor Frankl