How can one apply this quote from Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning?
- musicgold
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How can one apply this quote from Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning?
I am a newbie on this forum, so pardon me if I am not following any ruless here.
I recently finished reading Man's Search For Meaning, and I am struggling with the following statement which appears in the book a multiple times.
"Live as if you were living already for the second time and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you are about to act now."
I am struggling to understand how I can apply the above advice by Frankl. As life is full of situations you have never encountered before, I am not sure how I can imagine having experienced a situation before when I have not. Or does the quote essentially mean, take the high road in every situation?
- Albert Tatlock
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Re: How can one apply this quote from Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning?
Perhaps if you'd read the book as if you were reading it for the second time it would have made more sense.musicgold wrote: ↑January 22nd, 2018, 2:01 pm "Live as if you were living already for the second time and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you are about to act now."
I am struggling to understand how I can apply the above advice by Frankl. As life is full of situations you have never encountered before, I am not sure how I can imagine having experienced a situation before when I have not. Or does the quote essentially mean, take the high road in every situation?
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Re: How can one apply this quote from Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning?
I have read the book long ago and can't remember the details.musicgold wrote: ↑January 22nd, 2018, 2:01 pm Hi all,
I am a newbie on this forum, so pardon me if I am not following any ruless here.
I recently finished reading Man's Search For Meaning, and I am struggling with the following statement which appears in the book a multiple times.
"Live as if you were living already for the second time and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you are about to act now."
Generally what I can infer from the above is something like;
Say a person who has died [made a error, has lots of regrets ] is given a second chance.
In such a case, the person will have to make sure every step he take with his new life s/he has to be mindful not to repeat the mistakes in the past that led to his death and past regrets.
I believe the 'takeaway' from the above is to be mindful at all times to do what is 'right' and not doing things blindly driven on auto-pilot mode.
I presume the book would have discussed what is 'right.'
The above is the same with the advice,
Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.
- mahatma_gandhi
or
"live as if today is your last day" thus one has to live the right way as every moment is limited and precious.
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Re: How can one apply this quote from Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning?
Sometimes you find yourself doing something you know is wrong. The advice is to step back and really ask yourself why you are doing this thing which you already know is wrong. So as spectrum says don't operate on auto pilot. Don't fall for sunk cost. Don't do things because they are expected. Don't reciprocate blindly, as in don't play by someone else's rules.
I am possibly reading too much into the quote. But that is my takeaway.
- musicgold
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Re: How can one apply this quote from Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning?
So is it not the same as always take the high road?Eduk wrote: ↑January 23rd, 2018, 12:46 pm I basically agree with spectrum's analysis.
Sometimes you find yourself doing something you know is wrong. The advice is to step back and really ask yourself why you are doing this thing which you already know is wrong. So as spectrum says don't operate on auto pilot. Don't fall for sunk cost. Don't do things because they are expected. Don't reciprocate blindly, as in don't play by someone else's rules.
I am possibly reading too much into the quote. But that is my takeaway.
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Re: How can one apply this quote from Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning?
I'm not such a fan of the term though. For me there is the implication of moral superiority and specifically Christian moral superiority. Often it is misused and undeserved. But that is not the fault of the term I guess.
- musicgold
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Re: How can one apply this quote from Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning?
I could be wrong, but I don't think this quote and Gandhi's quote mean the same thing as Frankl's quote.The quote above tends to imply that live your life to the fullest, no necessarily righteously. Am I missing something?
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Re: How can one apply this quote from Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning?
Note earlier I mentioned the "right way" [the default actually] and that is implied in Gandhi's or similar quotes.
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Re: How can one apply this quote from Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning?
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