In Search of Meaning: How a Purpose Can Transform Your Life
Sometimes, what hurts the most is not the pain itself, but the feeling that it’s meaningless. When we suffer without understanding, without direction, everything feels heavier. But when we find a "why," a deeper meaning to hold onto, something inside us shifts. As Viktor Frankl said, "He who has a why to live can bear almost any how."
In this article, we’ll explore how the search for meaning can be one of the most healing forces in your life and why it matters more than you think.
What Is Logotherapy?
Logotherapy, developed by Austrian psychiatrist Viktor Frankl, is a form of therapy based on the idea that the primary drive in human beings is not pleasure or power, but meaning.
After surviving the horrors of concentration camps during World War II, Frankl observed that those who had a strong sense of purpose were more resilient, even amidst unthinkable suffering.
Logotherapy focuses on helping people reconnect with meaning in their lives through love, work, creativity and even the attitude we take towards inevitable suffering.
In Frankl’s words:
"When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves."
Why Meaning Changes Everything
When we have a deeper sense of meaning:
Pain becomes bearable: It still hurts, but it feels part of a bigger journey.
Decisions become clearer: We choose based on alignment, not fear.
Resilience grows: We are no longer just reacting, we are walking a chosen path.
Healing becomes possible: Because we are not just fixing pain, we are growing through it.
Meaning doesn’t erase grief, confusion or fear. But it anchors us in a deeper part of ourselves that can move through anything without losing the soul.
Finding Meaning After Loss
Especially after breakups, emotional losses or life transitions, reconnecting with meaning becomes vital.
Some paths to rediscover meaning:
Serving something larger than yourself (your children, a cause, your art).
Reconnecting with beauty: Nature, music, connection.
Transforming wounds into wisdom.
Allowing your pain to open your heart, not close it.
Meaning is not something you find once and keep forever. It’s something you choose, again and again, especially when life asks more of you.
If you’re in a moment of pain, confusion or loss, don’t rush to fix it. Instead, ask yourself gently:
“What could this be asking me to become?”
In that question, the seeds of a new chapter begin to grow.
