A Man’s Search For Meaning: Be Positive

“He who has a ‘why’ to live can bear or deal with almost any how.” A Man’s Search For Meaning by Viktor Frankl.

To live a happy life, we must have a reason or purpose. Frankl talks about how he had to find his “why” during the Holocaust. Frankl loved to help people. Before he was taken to camps, he was a psychiatrist. He founded logotherapy, which means finding the meaning in life to improve mental health.

Frankl had helped patients deal with the loss of close family members and friends. These people saw no reason to live until Frankl showed them why they should continue living. He explained to men who lost their wives that it could’ve been the other way around. Frankl made sure everyone understood that everything happens for a reason. Suffering is horrible, and losing people is a difficult task to deal with, but it can bring new meaning into life.

This book is deep and holds a lot of meaning and lessons. We see a lot of people suffer and hear their stories in the book. It has taught me a lot. I have dealt with setbacks in my life, and most people have. Some may not seem major, but they still affect us. I am taking the idea of logotherapy and adding it to my life to show another version of it. This version is the 1st world 21st-century version.

Hi, my name is Mason Kasimov. I am 21 years old and I am from Charlotte, North Carolina. I am a junior at Arizona State University, and I have changed my major 3 times.

These next 3 points are going to be based on how I’ve let life get to me for the past 21 years. I am then going to talk about how I will turn it around. I hope I can motivate you to want to work on yourself and find your purpose. Every one of you deserves happiness.

Excuses Excuses

In middle school and high school, I would give the excuse, “Oh, I am a bad test taker, that’s why I failed.” Realistically, I didn’t study as hard as I should’ve. It was easier to blame problems that didn’t matter. In elementary school, I got extra time on my test and even had a teacher read it aloud. That’s why I thought my excuse was real. But in 6th grade, I tested out of my accommodations. Even if I still had all the help, it’s not an excuse not to try. The times I did apply myself before a test, I did well.

A common excuse I heard for someone not doing well in a class was “the teacher doesn’t like me.” Or “the teacher doesn’t teach well.” I sometimes used that second reason as well. Maybe it was true. Some teachers are horrible at their job out there, but is that an excuse? No.

People have their strengths. I have friends who are motivated to study hard and get fantastic grades. Others just retain information like no one else. One’s like me may take a second to understand something. In college, I was thinking about what my problem was, and I figured it out. I have to work on improving my study habits, read more to work on comprehension, and make an effort. There is no reason I can’t be just as intelligent as my friends. If I make excuses and don’t try, then I’ll never improve.

Annoyance

I think it’s important to cut off true negativity from your life. I have cut off people who were always negative and brought me down because I truly wasn’t happy.

People have irritated me my whole life. I have not hung out with someone just because they had a small quirk that annoyed me. To give an example, I have had arrogant friends who thought they were God’s gift to the world. Sometimes they acted like that to hide insecurities, other times they truly were just cocky. It would irk me because, in their minds, they could do no wrong. Well, when I look back at friends like that, I realize I was too quick to judge. Maybe they had this one thing that I disliked, but they enjoyed doing the same things as I did.

Now, if I have a friend who is full of themselves, I don’t judge immediately; I let them have their moments. I think about the fact that they don’t need to be my number one best friend, but we can still be close. There is no point in not liking someone just because something about them can be annoying. I’m sure there are many things about me that people overlook, so why shouldn’t I do the same? If I let everyone’s baggage get to my head, then I will never be content or have friends.

Letting People Get to Me

I ref for a youth recreational league called i9 Sports in Arizona. I am surrounded by parents and kids making all these excuses for why their team may be losing. Obviously, as an official, fingers are pointing at me first. I then get defensive and will rant to coworkers and bosses about how “they’re blaming me, but I can’t see everything.” “They miss calls in the pros, what do they expect from me?” I am sitting here and letting all of this pettiness get to me. When should I know my purpose in the field?

My purpose as an i9 ref is different from most officials. I am an instructor. My job is to help the children learn whatever sport they are playing and get better. Wins and losses don’t matter. All I care about is the young athletes having fun, learning a sport, being active, and seeing if they want to pursue it in the future. My letting these parents and kids complaining get to my head stops me from doing my job.

Conclusion

Frankl helped people in so many ways. He was able to improve people’s mental health by knowing how he improved his. I hope to do the same.

I know no matter what my future job is, I will be coaching on the side. I want to not only help young athletes on the field, but also help them off the field. I know my purpose in life is to help people and be a positive role model. Whenever I help someone or have the honor of being there for someone, I can’t help but feel like I have succeeded.

I am not saying you need to have a calling to help someone. What I am saying is that no matter what life throws at you, how big or small, there is a reason. Everyone has their purpose, and the way to find that purpose is to look at ourselves.