Concept paper on "Prisoner of our Thoughts" by Alex Pattakos

Prisoner of Our Thoughts Chapter 1 Summary Life Doesn’t Just Happen to UsIn chapter 1 of this book “Prisoners of Our Thoughts: Viktor Frankl’s Principles at Work” by Alex pattakos, Victor Frankl who suffered through imprisonment in Nazi concentration camps during World War II, found meaning, in spite of, the suffering all around him. His life’s work resulted in the therapeutic approach called Logotherapy, which paved the way for us to know meaning as a foundation of our existence. Frankl is quick to say, however, that such traumatic suffering is not a prerequisite for finding meaning in our lives. He means that even if and when we do suffer, no matter what the severity, we have the ability to find meaning in the situation. Choosing to do so is the path to a meaningful life which includes meaningful work. They lead us to meaning, to freedom, and to deep connection to our own lives as well as to the lives of others in our local and global communities.

Deutsch: Viktor Frankl

Choose Your Response

Opportunity

Viewing life as inherently meaningful and literally unlimited in potential requires a shift in consciousness. It also requires responsible action on our part, as Frankl points out, the potential for meaning that exists in each moment of life can only be searched and detected individually. This responsibility, he says, is “to be actualized by each of us at any time, even in the most miserable situations and literally up to the last breath of ourselves.” By living a life with meaning right up to his last breath, he showed us how his philosophy and therapeutic approach was grounded in practice. Instead, we lock ourselves inside our own mental prisons. We lose sight of our own natural potential, as well as that of others. Each of us has his own inner...