Entrepreneur Peter Barton was at the top of the world.
Until it was.
Barton lived a life that everyone had dreamed of, carefully took care of himself and was a great husband and dad to his family.
And then one of the fate of Done was a broken world:
Terminal diagnosis of cancer.
Work became less important, other experiences ceased to retain meaning; He tried to pick up the pieces as he mourned the future he would not live. He wouldn’t see his children grow up or grow old with his wife.
Barton divided these thoughts and experiences in an absolutely heart -based book called Do not fade,, And one paragraph always got stuck with me.
One day, Peter’s body was destroyed, succumbed to cancer, his head was suffering, and the spirit was lower than ever. Defeated, he told his wife for support:
“I just don’t see the point.”
She replied, “so find one.”
Finding the point became a point.
Barton received a life sentence and decided to “find a point of life” by writing a book his children could read. A book that other people could read and analyze the meaning in their own lives.
I was thinking about “finding a point became a point”, while I revised another of my favorite books, inspired by my friend Bretty McKay’s recent episode The art of manhood Podcast.
Man’s pursuit of the meaning
Victor Frankl was the survivor of the Holocaust, a psychotherapist and a creator of a type of therapy called “logotherapy”.
After surviving the horrors of Auschwitz and other concentration camps, he wrote the first draft for his book, Man’s pursuit of the meaning,, in nine days.
He even planned to publish anonymously, but at the last second he was convinced that he had attached his name to add some gravity to his survival story.
Since then, he has continued to sell 16+ million copies and translate into 50+ languages.
Frankl’s thinking school, logotherapy, was built around the idea that “the meaning of life is to find the meaning of life for every single person. It is often referred to Nietzsche’s famous saying:
“The one who has why to live can handle almost everything.”
Through this book, Frankl explains his thoughts and thinking about life as he watched thousands of people die or were killed.
What is most striking in this short book is Frankl’s ability to find meaning and hope for humanity in the midst of one of the worst human crimes ever committed.
The other half of the book dived deeper into “logotherapy”, encouraging us to find our specific “meaning”.
“The meaning of life is different from man to man, day by day and from hour to hour.
What is important, therefore, is not the meaning of life in general, but the specific meaning of a person’s life at a certain moment. “
You may not diagnose the terminal cancer or suffer the crimes of the concentration camp.
But there was probably a point in your life in which you ask, “Why the hell do I do what I do?”
We might think that asking questions means that something is wrong with us. Not to live in an instant. That we need help.
Frankl feels different. He considers the posting of this issue to be critical and healthy:
“The biggest task for any person is to find meaning in your life.”
What if that unpleasant conversation was actually part of the process with you?
What if the asking of that question was a point?
Your “big why”
We talk a lot about “what’s your big why?” Here in the nerve fitness rebellion.
If we think about it, we try to force ourselves to things We are not wolved (or are needed) for that.
Of course We do not want to burn additional calories, get up early to exercise and avoid filling your face with comfortable food.
This requires extra effort, we need to feel hungry, we need to change our behavior. And our brain wants none of that!
This may not be things like a “life” … but it’s a really powerful reminder that helps us stay consistent when life will give us anything but consistency:
- Why will we get up at 5am and go for a walk when it’s cold outside?
- Why do we say that salads and lean proteins when there are cookies and donuts?
- Why do we sweat (gross) and pick up weights (uncomfortable)?
- Why do we force ourselves to breathe strongly and run 5K or do we say that we feel deeply self-conscious in yoga course in which we feel deeply self-conscious?
We talk a lot about that with Our training clients and members NF community::
Having a permanent reminder of WHY We do this often can be a thing that follows us during those of the most difficult moments after the motivation has worn out:
We may want to break the generational cycle of unhealthy relationship with the food we learned from our parents.
Maybe we want our children to see that we can be a strong mom, it’s okay to sweat and push themselves.
Maybe we want to feel better in ourselves when we look in the mirror or know we always feel better after Exercise than we felt ago Exercise?
Your challenge is this week to ask yourself why you are here:
- Why are you ready to go through the unpleasant thoughts and feelings that come with a change?
- Why are you willing to try to learn a new skill or adjust how you eat?
- Why are you ready to get up early and spend less time on the couch?
Continue deeper with your reasons. Continue to ask “why” and see what goes out.
Write down.
Put it on a note and glue one on your refrigerator, a bathroom mirror, a car’s supervisory board.
-They
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