What do we want from life? This is the wrong question!

What we should be asking, in order to discover what life (or our career) means to us, is...

What does life expect from me?

A big question! A question which suggests we stop looking inwards and instead invites us to focus our attention outwards to the world.

Viktor Frankl, in his book ‘Man’s search for meaning’, describes his experiences in Nazi concentration camps as a prisoner. The book, a difficult read, describes how Viktor survived three years of inhumane treatment, starvation, suffering and forced labour. When every else is taken away, no one can take away ‘one’s attitude in a given set of circumstances’. Viktor describes ‘the prisoner who had lost faith in the future – his future – was doomed. With his loss of belief in the future, he also lost his spiritual hold’.

If Viktor was able to find meaning in the suffering brought about by the concentration camps then this offers us hope in finding meaning in a world that doesn’t seem to care. Viktor invites us to choose our mindset  - however hopeless things might seem.

So, if you are currently feeling lost, bored or flat in life or in your career try asking yourself - what does life expect from me?

Then explore the possibilities that the question offers you.

All quotes from Viktor Frankl’s Man’s search for meaning.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author. All articles published on Life Coach Directory are reviewed by our editorial team.

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