Four Questions To a Meaningful Life Inspired by Viktor Frankl
A simple framework to uncover meaning in life.
Recently I was listening to a podcast with Psychologist David B. Feldman, Ph.D. in which he was discussing the life of the great psychiatrist Viktor Frankl who spent years captive in Nazi concentration camps.
Throughout this horrific ordeal, Frankl came to believe that the only way he could survive and maintain his sanity was to find some sort of meaning in his experience of suffering and loss.
However, in one of the passages from his book Man’s Search for Meaning, he forewarns:
“One should not search for an abstract meaning of life.”
He likens the pursuit of meaning with that of success and happiness:
“For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one’s personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself.”
He continued:
“You have to let it happen by not caring about it.”
Enter the art of surrender.
Like all pursuits in life, whether meaning, happiness, success, love, etc., they stop being pursuits and begin to flow into your life once you surrender.
Letting go and acceptance is the first of two nuances in Frankl’s message on the pursuit of meaning.
The other is found in this line: “a dedication to a cause greater than oneself.”
In other words, the most fulfilling forms of meaning arrive not when we pursue them directly, but when we embrace the parts of life that connect us with something greater.
Enter the paradoxical secret.
The podcast host David B. Feldman doubled down on Frankl’s message by profoundly saying this:
“The paradoxical secret to finding meaning in life is not to look for it.”
He continued:
“The secret to a meaningful life may be to remind ourselves every day to do the right thing, love fully, pursue fascinating experiences, and undertake important tasks, not because we are trying to increase our sense of meaning in life, but because these pursuits are good in themselves.”
How beautiful is that?
After spending some time with Frankl’s ideas on meaning and Feldman’s profound interpretation, I started to consider that perhaps hidden in these insights is a simple framework we can use to create a vision for our lives that indirectly leads to meaning.
Part 1: The 4 Questions to a Meaningful Life
As Feldman suggests, maybe when it comes to having a meaningful life, we should be asking ourselves the following questions:
- What behaviors and actions will allow me to do the right thing every day
- How can I love fully and truly in everything I do and say?
- What fascinating experiences do I want to pursue?
- What important tasks and projects do I want to undertake?
This is in stark contrast to how we typically set goals and aspirations with much of our focus centered on money, job titles, numbers on a scale, etc.
These endeavors constitute our direct chase for meaning — which is fine, but what if we filtered everything through the lens of these four questions as indirect pursuits of meaning?
How much more meaningful would our experience of life become?
As Frankl mentions, wouldn’t living a meaningful life, then just become a side-effect from aligning with these behaviors and activities that take us higher?
Part 2: Vibes and Values
If you look at these four questions closely, we can boil “meaning” down to vibes and values.
What are vibes? Vibes are feelings and emotions. It’s the type of energy you want to live your life with. It’s everything that enlivens your senses and that captivates you spiritually.
What are values? Values are what you hold near and dear to your heart. They’re the concepts and ideas that you resonate with. It’s what gives you a sense of purpose. And like Victor Frankl said:
“Purpose is the cornerstone of good mental health.”
Together, vibes and values are the themes you want your life to embody. By defining them, you pinpoint your exact flavor of happiness.
So in other words, when we say we are seeking “meaning” what we are really seeking are high vibes within a value-driven life.
Because everything in life comes down to how you feel and what you stand for.
Plus, doing this avails you to infinite possibilities to experience “meaning” in life since you’ve expressed it in the form of values and vibes rather than in terms of things and outcomes.
Create a Personal List of Vibes and Values
A good exercise to do after answering the four questions inspired by Frankl and Feldman is to make a list of the vibes and values you want your life to embody.
Here are my top 10:
- Health
- Creativity
- Freedom
- Peace
- Wisdom and Inspiration
- Kindness
- Love
- Abundance
- Adventure
- Unity
Feel free to share your list in the comments.
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