Image: Prof. Dr. Franz Vesely, CC BY-SA 3.0 de
34 quotes
Austrian Holocaust survivor, psychiatrist, philosopher and author (1905–1997)
“Fear may come true that which one is afraid of.”
"Man's search for meaning is the primary motivation in his life and not a "secondary rationalization" of instinctual drives."
on Philosophy
"A man who could not see the end of his"provisional existence" was not able to aim at an ultimate goal in life."
on Life
"Challenging the meaning of life is the truest expression of the state of being human."
"We have absolutely no control over what happens to us in life but what we have paramount control over is how we respond to those events."
"When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves."
"I do not forget any good deed done to me & I do not carry a grudge for a bad one."
on Wisdom
"No one has the right to do wrong, even if wrong has been done to them."
"The salvation of man is through love and in love"
on Love
"An abnormal reaction to an abnormal situation is normal behavior."
on Psychology
"The attempt to develop a sense of humor and to see things in a humorous light is some kind of a trick learned while mastering the art of living."
on Humor
"When we are no longer able to change a situation - we are challenged to change ourselves."
"Faith is trust in ultimate meaning."
on Faith
"Live as if you were living a second time, and as though you had acted wrongly the first time."
"Don’t aim at success—the more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it."
on Success
"Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it."
on Happiness
"He who knows the 'Why' for his existence is able to bear almost any 'How'."
"When a person can't find a deep sense of meaning, they distract themselves with pleasure."
"Everywhere man is confronted with fate, with the chance of achieving something through his own suffering."
"Suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of scarifice"
"Unnecessary suffering is masochistic rather than heroic."
