Man's Search For Meaning By Viktor Frankl

Life is full of ups and downs, knowns and unknowns. In Viktor Frankl’s book, Man’s Search for Meaning, he demonstrates the existential principle that anxiety forms from the mysteries and uncertainties of life. Throughout the book, Frankl stresses that the mystery of the future, especially after entering the camp, could cause one to lose purpose to survive due to the unknown: “Former prisoners...agree that the most depressing influence of all was that a prisoner could not know how long his term of imprisonment would be” (Frankl 91). Upon entering the camp, new prisoners were overwhelmed with the dehumanizing conditions. With the uncertainty of when they would be released (if they were able to survive at all), some men would make decisions based simply on their anxiety towards the future.
It is this anxiety that causes a man to make degrading decisions.
By making choices in fear of the future, he may actually lead himself on the same path he was trying to avoid. For example, when Frank explains how a certain truck was going to a “rest camp,” which could either be the gas chambers or an actual rest camp, “Those who had pitied me remained in a camp where famine was to rage even more fiercely than in our new camp. They tried to save themselves, but they only sealed their own fates” (Frankl 76). By making decisions based solely on fear and trying to avoid death (instead of acknowledging it), these men perpetuated their deaths instead of saving their lives. These decisions based on their fear and worry for the loss of their lives caused them to killed themselves. Existentialism allows fate to flow and run its course; by not combating fate and allowing events to occur as planned, anxiety of the future will be lessened. Fate should not be meddled with, and instead of fearing for the future, one should embrace the presents and allow events to happen
naturally. Any man can feel anxiety, and it is human nature to try and predict the future. Most people do not want to live in the unknown; many want planned events and actions to be perfect. However, that is not always the case. In my situation, last year during the golf season I was overwhelmed with workload and uncertainty. During certain days of the week, particularly in October closer to the state competition, I had to prepare for golf tournaments, catch up on hours of missed classwork, and apply to over ten out of state colleges. Essays and work would not complete themselves, and sleep deprivation did not help with my golf performance. I was worried about how I would perform in a tournament setting, worried about if any college would accept me, and worried about falling behind in school. However, I stuck it out. I did not try to panic over college applications or pull all-nighters studying for a missed test; instead, I viewed every day as new day, and every night as chance to relax and refresh. I continued on for a couple weeks, finished the golf season, caught up on many, many hours of missed classes, and eventually finished all of my applications, one by one. I let fate take its course, and hopefully, it will lead me to where I need to be. Wherever I go and whatever I do has a meaning, and I should refrain from worrying about it.