.png)
Life isn't going your way.
You’ve had a rough run recently.
You continue to miss shots.
You spend more time on the bench than on the court.
Your body hurts.
Your performance embarrasses you.
Your goals don't feel close.
Obstacles stand in your way.
You have only two options:
You rise above it.
Or.
You quit.
There are no other choices.
Some people in your exact situation would quit.
If you quit:
You will live with regrets
You won't experience your dreams come true
You will never witness your full potential
But, some people in your exact situation would rise above the obstacles.
If you push forward:
Your name will live on
You will live a full and rewarding life
You will improve your loved ones' lives
You will bear witness to your dreams
You will know what you are capable of becoming
Micael Jordan could have quit after not making his high school team.
David Goggins could have quit after he fractured his kneecap during seal hell week.
Walt Disney could have quit after he was fired from a newspaper team for having no creativity.
Thomas Edison could have quit after failing to make the lightbulb 5000 times.
Everyone faces setbacks.
Some people rise above; some let the obstacles crush them.
You decide your fate.
But, this begs a very important question.
What makes someone quit, while another person pushes through?
It's simple.
Purpose.
Viktor E. Frankl (1905–1997) was an Austrian neurologist, psychiatrist, and Holocaust survivor who developed the philosophy of logotherapy.
Frankl argued that finding meaning in life is essential for human well-being and resilience.
During his 3 years in Nazi concentration camps, he found there was a divide among the prisoners.
Those who had given up.
And, those who had not.
To Frankl's surprise;
It was not the strongest or sturdiest men who found a way to survive the horrific camp.
But it was those who could retreat from their terrible surroundings into a life of inner riches and spiritual freedom.
Those who found purpose in their existence continued to fight.
Those who had lost hope, with no purpose, did not survive long.
Frankl documents:
Once a prisoner had given up the intense desire to live;
Instead of trading away their cigarettes for food, they would smoke them.
One last ditch effort to bring some comfort into their life.
They would never survive long after this.
“Life is never made unbearable by circumstances, but only by lack of meaning and purpose.” Victor Frankl
When you know your purpose.
There is no option to quit.
"He who has a why to live can bear almost any how." Friedrich Nietzsche
Purpose creates:
Resilience in the face of challenges.
A sense of direction
A reason to endure suffering
Daily determination
A rewarding life
No matter what goals or dreams you chase.
Obstacles will stand in your way.
There will be suffering.
You will struggle.
The journey will be difficult.
To push through when times feel hopeless;
Your purpose will give you strength.
Let's use a basketball career as an example.
There is only one certainty.
You will fail.
You will get benched
You will get injured
You will lose games
You will turn the ball over
You will miss shots
You will fail over and over again
Will you push through these moments to find excellence?
No matter how difficult it gets;
Will you use your purpose to give you strength in desperate times?
How much suffering are you willing to go through to make your dreams a reality?
Because it's simple.
If your purpose is strong enough you can endure anything.
You won't give up.
And if you never give up; You can never fail forever.
How To Find Your Purpose.
Let's talk about how to find your purpose.
Viktor Frankl explains in his writing that there are 3 ways to find your purpose.
Finding your purpose is a unique journey for you.
You can use these as guides, but it is up to you, to explore the world with an open and curious mind.
1 - Action
The first step to take is action.
Do activities that give you a sense of satisfaction.
Create.
Explore the world.
Dive into learning about interests.
Stop spending more time watching other people live their lives than you do yours.
Get off Netflix.
Put down the scrolling.
Take action.
Get uncomfortable.
Start something.
For many years my purpose was basketball.
To play as much as I could.
I had no deep and meaningful reason.
I just loved playing hoops.
This drove me to a Division 1 scholarship.
It helped me become a professional basketball.
Sacrificing standard activities such as schoolies or regular weekend drinking was easy.
I knew my purpose.
To become a professional basketball player.
2 - Love
Love creates poetry.
Art.
War.
Sacrifice.
Resilience.
Love moves mothers to lift cars to save their children.
Love gave Nelson Mandela the strength to fight through 27 years of prison time.
Love helped Mahatma Gandhi inspire millions of people to stand up for justice and freedom.
When Frankl talks about love, he doesn't mean the sloppy, messy love that we see on horrible reality TV shows.
Frankl describes love as a sense of intense togetherness and spiritual freedom.
"Love is the ultimate and highest goal to which a man can inspire; The salvation of man is through love and in love."
He tells the story of a woman's last few moments in a concentration camp.
As she lays on her bed, she speaks of gratitude that fate has hit her so hard.
"This tree here is the only friend I have in my loneliness."
She could see a single branch through a window.
On the tree were two blossoms.
"I often talk to the tree."
Frankl asked curiously if the tree responded.
"Yes, the tree says: I am here - I am here - I am life, eternal life."
She found purpose.
She found meaning through love.
Love for nature.
These positive experiences can help you find purpose in your life.
Beauty
Nature
Truth
Goodness
Culture
Experiencing other humans in their individuality
Love/togetherness is all around you.
But you have to look for it.
Find love by:
Slowing down
Cultivate gratitude
Practice empathy
Know your values
Find meaning in shared experiences
"The more one forgets himself—by giving himself to a cause to serve or another person to love—the more human he is." Victor Frankl
Do not underestimate the power of togetherness.
Alone you will not travel far.
Love will give you strength.
Thank you, Beth and Lloyd.
3 - Suffering
I must make myself clear.
Do not search for suffering, or purposely create suffering for yourself.
You will find no meaning in that task.
This is about unavoidable suffering.
Loved ones passing.
Losess.
Getting sick.
Unavoidable suffering.
In this section, I will let Frankl speak.
For I have endured no such hardship as Frankl himself.
3 years in Nazi war camps.
The death of his wife.
Unimaginable suffering.
In these moments of suffering Frankl argues that you still have power.
Power to choose how you respond.
“Everything can be taken from a man 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.”
You have the power to create meaning.
The power to create your own reality.
"In some ways, suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of a sacrifice. [...] In accepting this challenge to suffer bravely, life has a meaning up to the last moment, and it retains this meaning literally to the end. In other words, life's meaning is an unconditional one, for it even includes the potential meaning of unavoidable suffering."
Finding meaning in suffering transforms the experience.
If the suffering serves a greater purpose or an opportunity for personal growth, it stops being only a negative experience.
“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.”
There is always an opportunity to grow.
There is always an obstacle in the way.
One in which if you choose to face it, you become a stronger, more resilient person.
“It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life—daily and hourly. Our answer must consist, not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual.”
In such a small chapter I struggle to describe how beautifully Frankl writes on the meaning of suffering.
From the depths of hell, Frankl writes of hope.
This is capable of anyone.
This is capable of you.
Purpose will give you the resilience to face any obstacle.
Create Hastily.
Love vulnerably.
Suffer bravely.
Know your purpose.
Know no limits.