Reddit reviews Man's Search for Meaning
We found 30 Reddit comments about Man's Search for Meaning. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Great product!
Reddit reviews Man's Search for MeaningWe found 30 Reddit comments about Man's Search for Meaning. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Some are probably less good than others, but that's what I'd throw out there. A direct assault is not always the best way.
And this one : http://www.amazon.com/Mans-Search-Meaning-Viktor-Frankl/dp/0807014273
Really, anyone working on a PhD in philosophy who thinks there is a job waiting for them should fit the bill. (Sorry, couldn't resist).
On a more serious note, and he's not a 'philosopher' in the narrow sense, but psychologist Martin Seligman's Learned Optimism is very worth a read and provides a lot of empirical research about the benefits of optimism and the dangers of pessimism.
I haven't read this myself, but a friend of mine is always going on about Victor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning. Might be something to check out.
I've previously had a lot of success using cognitive behavioural therapy and this CBT book is very good. Change Your Thinking - Sarah Edelman (I linked to a CBT resource with lots of other books.
I have also just finished reading Man's Search for Meaning - Viktor Frankl and have been profoundly affected by that.
Great list! I have read all the above and totally agree that their value is worthwhile to anyone seeking to improve their life -- regardless of financial status, relationships, profession, etc. A couple others that I've found useful along the road:
6. The Six Pillars of Self Esteem by N. Branden. During the reawakening stage and after a particularly painful breakup, I found this book helpful. Learning the concept of "alone-ness" versus "loneliness" continues to drive many motivations.
7. Games People Play by Eric Berne. Want to understand why your plate/gf/wife went batshit insane over the stupidest thing, and how to counteract it in the future? Read this book. Want to understand why your coworker was making those strange comments to your boss? Read this book - a must for anyone wanting to learn more about game theory and its application to everyday life. (Next on my list is The Art of Strategy ).
8. Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. In many ways this is an antithesis to Freudian thought -- whereas Freud argued man is happy when seeking and obtaining pleasure, Frankl postulates that finding meaning and understanding is what makes us happy. In the context of TRP theory, meditating on, if not fully understanding, these concepts is absolutely necessary.
9. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini. The seminal work on the concept and application of persuasion. From negotiations to dating/relationships to job performance, I would rank this book at the top of many lists.
A few other authors/books I've seen mentioned elsewhere that are worth checking out: anything by Kurt Vonnegut, The Art of War by Sun Tzu (which goes hand in hand with The Prince for a great East/West study), and Rollo Tomassi. I've also found some of Oscar Wilde's writing to be both amusing and insightful.
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Victor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning. It's not too heavy and its an important book in humanistic psych.
A few books have changed my life. Most directly these two:
The Now Habit and Learned Optimism: How to Change Your Mind and Your Life
On a personal level of how I view the world Man's Search for Meaning by Vikto Frankl and The Moral Animal: Why We Are, the Way We Are: The New Science of Evolutionary Psychology have helped me to understand the people in the world around me.
Spiritually, Siddhartha and the Book of John in the New Testament have helped me to be a better human being.
This is a book that gave me some great insights as to WHY it seems to take so long, at times, and the road is so hard to get the answers to my prayers. I suggest picking it up. When Your Prayers Seem Unanswered
Also, one book I think every human being on earth aught to read at least once in their lifetime is "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl. It really isn't a religious book, but it's in my top 10 spiritually uplifting books. It was his account of his struggles through the concentration camps in WWII. He was a psychologist and analyzed the process of endurance, what it takes to survive, and what it was like when people gave in. Its horrifying and uplifting at the same time. In your situation, you may find it comforting and validating.
The first step would be realizing that you are not alone. This book is written by an educate Jewish Doctor that survived Auschwitz. I recommend it to you. I hope I will never have to go through what those people went through, but this guy picked up and moved on, leaving wisdom on a disparate situation. If you cannot afford books check your library or pm me and I'll see what I can do. Cheer up!
Congratulations! I know what a big step that is, as I've been in the same boat. Books are the best way to become informed. Check out books by:
Also check out the video series Why I am no longer a creationist.
The more you know, the more confident you will be.
A great book that deals with this is "Man's Search for Meaning" by Viktor Frankl
The How of Happiness: A Scientific Approach to Getting the Life You Want - Sonja Lyubomirsky
Learned Optimism - Seligman
MAn's Search for Meaning - Frankl
I think In the end-the beginning by Jurgen Moltmann was one of the most important books I read when I was going through a difficult time. I generally suggest anything by Moltmann, but if you're not very familiar with systematic theology another book that is pretty easy to read is Jesus Christ for Today's World. Man's Search for Meaning is another great book that I think might be good for your situation. Death and Life: An American Theology by Arthur McGil and The Slavery of Death by Richard Beck are also worthwhile reads, and most people I've recommended them to end up reading everything else by Beck and McGil they can get their hands on.
Stop focusing on the big picture. Of course it's all meaningless compared to all of time and the entire universe.
You're alive now. You can find meaning in pleasure or in suffering. Try reading Man's Search for Meaning
Also....
Can I have your stuff?
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
Two things about this book blew my mind at 15:
Also Treblinka and Man's Search for Meaning. Treblinka because the prisoners fought back and destroyed the death camp. Man's Search for Meaning because it shows the struggle survivors had to find a reason to live after the Holocaust altered their picture of what kind of world we live in.
This book by Marcus Aurelius has transformed my life from one crippled by generalized anxiety into one that is still troubled, but with a definite method to press on. It is easily the most important book I've ever read. (Make sure you check out the Hays translation, the others are quite stiff. This is normally $10 so it's on sale on Amazon.)
What you are talking about is more properly called mindfulness, which was the first tool I tried. I had some success, in particular with Full Catastrophe Living, and if you find mindfulness effective then I would recommend simple mindfulness meditation (just sitting and letting thoughts pass through you--noticing that you have them and not responding to them or labeling them as good or bad, just resting in the moment and accepting that you have certain thoughts or feelings but also watching them pass by).
However, stoicism takes these ideas further and embues an element of self-trust that was much more effective for me. While mindfulness emphasizes the importance of the present and minimizing your immedate negative emotional responses, stoicism includes these elements but also says: there is nothing that can harm you. All I can do is act best I can, and not worry about the rest. Control what you can, but accept what you can't control. External events are uncontrollable and with practice you can remain completly resilent to them--metnally and emotionally accepting that you are in a certain situation but retaining the ability to deal with it in the best way you can.
It is difficult at first, but your everyday difficulties with anxiety are a perfect opportunity to practice. When you face situations and get through them, you hold the realization in your mind that that situation did not harm you--while it may have been unpleasant, you survived and moved straight through it. The unpleasantness was bearable, and you are no worse a person for dealing with it, in fact you are much the better. You can trust in this realization as you look forward toward future events. These little successes can accumulate in a big way if you take the first big step to accept your current limitations and trust in your current ability.
A fantastic example of the will's ability to persevere in impossible situations is Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. Frankl faces this daily horrors without anxiety because of his complete trust in his ability to face it squarely and overcome it.
So a stoic isn't someone who is passive or emotionless, but someone who is resilent and extremely proactive in response to difficulty. In terms of specific negative emotions like anxiety, anger, or fear, it's important to remember that you are not trying to ignore or not feel these things. That is a misconception about stoicism. These feeling are natural and in fact necessary for life. However, you want to domesticate these negative emotions and remain in control in spite of them, as much as you can. Everyone is overcome by anxiety at times, but the Stoic bounces back that much quicker.
tl;dr I have recommended a lot of books but everything I wrote is firmly based on the many times I have read Marcus Aurelius' Meditations. It is truly worth your time.
Everyone else can help you figure out how to move jobs/locations etc, but maybe you need some advice on how to deal with the situation now?
Find purpose. Just like people have basic physical needs, like to sleep and eat and drink, we also have basic psychological needs and the need for meaning and purpose is the deepest driver of wellbeing there is. If you find meaning in what you do, you'll be happier. I highly recommend reading the book 'Man's Search for Meaning' - it will completely change your mindset and help you get through every day right now - you don't need to wait or change your job for happiness. It changed my life.
“He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.”
It's short and easy to ready so give it go - read the reviews here too - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0807014273/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
justcs: ^^original ^^reddit ^^link
The first step would be realizing that you are not alone. This book is written by an educate Jewish Doctor that survived Auschwitz. I recommend it to you. I hope I will never have to go through what those people went through, but this guy picked up and moved on, leaving wisdom on a disparate situation. If you cannot afford books check your library or pm me and I'll see what I can do. Cheer up!
It always, always, comes down to choice. Man has the ability to choose a response to any given situation. We are not hard-wired to be a Stimulus-Response only creature. We have free will, therefore the ability to always choose a response in any given set of circumstances.
See Man's Search for Meaning, by Viktor Frankl, for a much greater understanding of the concept.
I'd recommend, Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
If you feel this is a bit too gory and you are unable to relate to the story- I'd recommend you pick up a bunch of P G Wodehouse novels, where the lives are frivolous, there is no pain and everybody is just happy. They are like musicals without the music!
Good luck and remember, like everything else in life- this too shall pass.
if you give up on yourself you'll be gone. dont give up on yourself no matter what.
I am you 20 years younger, though i dont think I will regret anything. I am too though for that.
read viktor frankl "Man's Search for Meaning"
http://www.amazon.com/Mans-Search-Meaning-Viktor-Frankl/dp/0807014273/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1292272428&sr=8-1
I would recommend two books, and highly recommend to look for a few more.
This book has changed my life and several friends, all with varying disorders. Saved my best friend from bulimia, helped my husband greatly with BDP, and my brother come out of meth addiction.
Man's Search for Meaning https://www.amazon.com/dp/0807014273/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_RcS3CbEF3R10K
This is to work through BPD and I know it’ll help you define if that’s what’s going on:
Skills Training Manual for Treating Borderline Personality Disorder https://www.amazon.com/dp/0898620341/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_pbS3Cb2EDVHH8
You should definitely seek out a therapist. Be empowered to call places locally. It’s so great to figure out what’s going on, especially early.
In that case, I suggest you watch this and pay attention to the dichotomy of striving for more vs being happy in the now, read this and see if you can relate to the feelings within you of pain attacks and the forces that seem to cause them within you, this and how meaning in what we do is more impactful than any other reason, and this where the drives of being content and wanting excitement are given the particular cases of domesticity and eroticism.
 
I also invite you to explore the creation of your own psyche through the influences of the time. Early in Mating in Captivity, Esther talks about a book detailing how sex used to be just a biological fact of reproduction, and over time has been turned into what it is today, a status of your own meaning. The things we hold important in the now are completely a construct of how we were raised, insomuch as the entirety of who and what you are, what you eat, how you vote, what you consider normal in society, relationships, all of that, is simply one of many ways your psyche can be built. And there are infinite ways it can be built.
Culture shock is a real thing. And it comes up when you understand and see that others take things you never thought to question, and do them differently because their psyches were constructed in that way. Ultimately, you will be happy when you truly allow all facets of your life to align with what you want to be, rather than what you think they should be.
pick up viktor franks book, A man's search for meaning. It is only about 150 pgs. He was a holocaust survivor that wrote about suffering and searching for purpose.
probably the best book I've ever read.
This book may be relevant to you at this period of your life.
In that case I have two books that explain this issue pretty well and give multiple answers to your question. Both of these books are pretty simple and you can probably find a lot of other ones that discuss the topic but these are the two I've found explain in simplistic terms.
The Universe Next Door --- This books gives a great look at a large range of different world views. It answers your question for each of those world views and pretty much leaves it up to the reader to think what they want.
Man's Search for Meaning --- This book is a specific account of a guy who spent time in the concentration camps during WWII. The first half is his account of that and the second half is his explanation on why he kept on living. Very interesting read.
This question you ask is a huge philosophical topic and it's hard to give a simple answer. Good luck.
Read this book. Your story sounds a lot like mine. Find someone to talk to, or something to do that makes you happy. Find a new hobby. Even better, charity work can be hard on the soul and humbling at the same time. All it takes to shock me out of my rut is to see that my life could be so much worse.
Four random books from my nearest shelf: Underground Bases and Tunnels, Man's Search for Meaning, The Millennium Whole Earth Catalog, Amberville.
Can't say I have read the five books you listed, but based on what I've heard about them... Amberville would probably be something you'd enjoy. :)
Edit: Have to throw this in: The Ultimate Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. ;)