What the Holocaust and Stoicism can Teach us About Living a Meaningful Life

For many years, I have waded through countless philosophies, ideas, and beliefs to help better my life. Throughout all of these, two forms of thought resonated the strongest with me. The first comes from the Stoic philosophy originating in ancient Greece. The next comes from a form of therapy, called logotherapy, developed by Viktor Frankl after his experiences as a prisoner in the Holocaust. Coincidentally, I soon realized these two systems of thought shared many commonalities with each other.

In this article, I will address two core teachings that both systems share. The first pertains to how we perceive and react to misfortunes in life. The second revolves around making the most out of our limited time on this planet.

It seems we often consider ourselves the victims in this game of life. When things go poorly, we let the uncontrollable events dictate our emotions and actions. When we have been mistreated or wronged, we let these occurrences determine how we live.

One of the core teachings of the stoic philosophers was to realize that, while we cannot always control outside events, our perception…