“Everything can be taken from a man [person] but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
This quote is by Viktor Frankl who was an Austrian psychiatrist, neurologist, philosopher, and writer who lived from 1905 to 1997. During World War II he was imprisoned in Nazi concentration camps. He survived, and in 1946 he published his book Man’s Search for Meaning, in which he wrote about his experiences and the effects those experiences had on his approach to life. He also developed a method of psychotherapy that he called logotherapy. Logotherapy is based on the tenets that people have an innate desire to have free will and to find meaning in their lives.
I have great respect for Frankl. He not only persevered and survived the horrific treatment of being in concentration camps, he also learned after the war ended that his wife and father died in other concentration camps and that his mother and brother were murdered by the Nazis. To go through such loss and hardship and to have the inner strength to continue on are awe-inspiring.
When Frankl speaks of the human freedom to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, I think about how challenging that can be. Even in far less serious situations, it can be difficult to choose our attitude and maintain it although we know it is what we should do. It certainly takes strength of purpose and perseverance and in certain situations it requires us to have courage. Yet knowing that it is possible to do so, such as by reading Man’s Search for Meaning, can help us.
One of my prayers is to ask our Creator to help me to keep things in perspective, to catch myself when I think too much about something that isn’t that important, and to remind myself to focus on the things that really matter. In other words, to choose the attitude our Creator wants me to choose and to try my best to maintain that attitude.
In thinking about choosing our attitude, I’m reminded of the importance of trying to hear our inner voice. Endeavoring to follow its guidance is what gives us the ability to choose our own way, to use Frankl’s words. Because when we try to discern and to follow the messages from our inner voice, we can be sure we are following our own way.