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Consider A Movie: It Consists Of Thousands Upon Thousands Of Individual Pictures, And Each Of Them Makes Sense And Carries A Meaning, Yet The Meaning Of The Whole Film Cannot Be Seen Before Its Last Sequence Is Shown. However, We Cannot Understand The Whole Film Without Having First Understood Each Of Its Components, Each Of The Individual Pictures. Isn't It The Same With Life? Doesn't The Final Meaning Of Life, Too, Reveal Itself, It At All, Only At Its End, On The Verge Of Death?
-Viktor E. Frankl
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Consider A Movie: It

Viktor E. Frankl
Consider A Movie: It Consists Of Thousands Upon Thousands Of Individual Pictures, And Each Of Them Makes Sense And Carries A Meaning, Yet The Meaning Of The Whole Film Cannot Be Seen Before Its Last Sequence Is Shown. However, We Cannot Understand The Whole Film Without Having First Understood Each Of Its Components, Each Of The Individual Pictures. Isn't It The Same With Life? Doesn't The Final Meaning Of Life, Too, Reveal Itself, It At All, Only At Its End, On The Verge Of Death?
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Meaning Of Life
Finals
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I Had Wanted Simply To Convey To The Reader By Way Of Concrete Example That Life Holds A Potential Meaning Under Any Conditions, Even The Most Miserable Ones. And I Thought That If The Point Were Demonstrated In A Situation As Extreme As That In A Concentration Camp, My Book Might Gain A Hearing. I Therefore Felt Responsible For Writing Down What I Had Gone Through, For I Thought It Might Be Helpful To People Who Are Prone To Despair.
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Spiritual
Self
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People
Today
Then I Grasped The Meaning Of The Greatest Secret That Human Poetry And Human Thought And Belief Have To Impart: The Salvation Of Man Is Through Love And In Love.
Love
Men
Secret
If Architects Want To Strengthen A Decrepit Arch, They Increase The Load Which Is Laid Upon It, For Thereby The Parts Are Joined More Firmly Together. So If Therapists Wish To Foster Their Patients' Mental Health, They Should Not Be Afraid To Increase That Load Through A Reorientation Toward The Meaning Of One's Life.
Inspirational Life
Wish
Together
The Meaning Of My Life Is To Help Others Find Meaning In Theirs.
Helping Others
Helping
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An Abnormal Reaction To An Abnormal Situation Is Normal Behavior.
Abnormal
Behavior
Reactions
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Friendship
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Men
The More One Forgives Himself - By Giving Himself To A Cause To Serve Or Another Person To Love - The More Human He Is And The More He Actualizes Himself.
Giving
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Self Actualization
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Dedication
Causes
Every Human Being Has The Freedom To Change At Any Instant.
Instant
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Thinking
Guilt
Behavior
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Men
May
Dignity
Love Goes Very Far Beyond The Physical Person Of The Beloved.
Beloved
Mans Search For Meaning
Search For Meaning
Challenging The Meaning Of Life Is The Truest Expression Of The State Of Being Human.
Motivational
Expression
Challenges
At Any Moment, Man Must Decide, For Better Or For Worse, What Will Be The Monument Of His Existence.
Men
Moments
Existence
...to Think Of Ourselves As Those Who Were Being Questioned By Life-daily And Hourly. Our Answer Must Consist, Not In Talk And Meditation, But In Right Action And In Right Conduct.
Thinking
Meditation
Answers
In Times Of Crisis, People Reach For Meaning. Meaning Is Strength. Our Survival May Depend On Our Seeking And Finding It.
People
Survival
Times Of Crisis
No One Can Become Fully Aware Of The Very Essence Of Another Human Being Unless He Loves Him.
Inspirational
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Each Man Is Questioned By Life; And He Can Only Answer To Life By Answering For His Own Life; To Life He Can Only Respond By Being Responsible.
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Men
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Either Belief In God Is Unconditional Or It Is No Belief At All.
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Unconditional
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Mans Search For Meaning
Search For Meaning
Conditions
We Dislike Talking About Our Experiences. No Explanations Are Needed For Those Who Have Been Inside, And The Others Will Understand Neither How We Felt Then Nor How We Feel Now.
Talking
Explanation
Needed
When We Are Not Any Lengthier Capable To Alter A Predicament, We're Challenged To Alter Ourselves
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Capable
Happiness Cannot Be Pursued; It Must Ensue.
Chaos
Stimulus And Response
Mans Search For Meaning
No One Can Take From Us The Ability To Choose Our Attitudes Toward The Circumstances In Which We Find Ourselves. This Is The Last Of Human Freedoms.
Attitude
Lasts
Circumstances
Man Does Not Simply Exist But Always Decides What His Existence Will Be, What He Will Become The Next Moment. By The Same Token, Every Human Being Has The Freedom To Change At Any Instant.
Men
Doe
Next
I Recommend That The Statue Of Liberty Be Supplemented By A Statue Of Responsibility On The West Coast.
Responsibility
Liberty
West
Forces Beyond Your Control Can Take Away Everything You Possess Except One Thing, Your Freedom To Choose How You Will Respond To The Situation.
Force
Situation
Mans Search For Meaning
Life Can Be Pulled By Goals Just As Surely As It Can Be Pushed By Drives.
Inspirational
Life
Goal
Because Of Social Pressure, Individualism Is Rejected By Most People In Favor Of Conformity. Thus The Individual Relies Mainly Upon The Actions Of Others And Neglects The Meaning Of His Own Personal Life. Hence He Sees His Own Life As Meaningless And Falls Into The “existential Vacuum” Feeling Inner Void. Progressive Automation Causes Increasing Alcoholism, Juvenile Delinquency, And Suicide.
Suicide
Fall
People
Man's Search For Meaning Is The Chief Motivation Of His Life.
Motivation
Men
Chiefs
No One Can Take Away My Freedom To Choose How I Will React.
Freedom To Choose
I Do The Unpleasant Tasks Before I Do The Pleasant Ones.
Tasks
Pleasant
When A Man Finds That It Is His Destiny To Suffer, He Will Have To Accept His Suffering As His Task; His Single And Unique Task. He Will Have To Acknowledge The Fact That Even In Suffering He Is Unique And Alone In The Universe. No One Can Relieve Him Of His Suffering Or Suffer In His Place. His Unique Opportunity Lies In The Way In Which He Bears His Burden.
Lying
Unique
Opportunity
As A Professor In Two Fields, Neurology And Psychiatry, I Am Fully Aware Of The Extent To Which Man Is Subject To Biological, Psychological And Sociological Conditions. But In Addition To Being A Professor In Two Fields I Am A Survivor Of Four Camps - Concentration Camps, That Is - And As Such I Also Bear Witness To The Unexpected Extent To Which Man Is Capable Of Defying And Braving Even The Worst Conditions Conceivable.
Men
Two
Survivor
Our Attitude Towards What Has Happened To Us In Life Is The Important Thing To Recognize. Once Hopeless, My Life Is Now Hope-full, But It Did Not Happen Overnight. The Last Of Human Freedoms, To Choose One's Attitude In Any Given Set Of Circumstances, Is To Choose One's Own Way.
Mom
Attitude
Parent
Our Greatest Freedom Is The Freedom To Choose Our Attitude.
Business
Attitude
Freedom To Choose
A Man Who Becomes Conscious Of The Responsibility He Bears Toward A Human Being Who Affectionately Waits For Him, Or To An Unfinished Work, Will Never Be Able To Throw Away His Life. He Knows The "why" For His Existence, And Will Be Able To Bear Almost Any "how."
Life
Responsibility
Men
The Last Of The Human Freedoms — To Choose One's Attitude In Any Given Set Of Circumstances, To Choose One's Own Way.
Life
Motivational
Inspiring
Our Generation Is Realistic, For We Have Come To Know Man As He Really Is. After All, Man Is That Being Who Invented The Gas Chambers Of Auschwitz; However, He Is Also That Being Who Entered Those Gas Chambers Upright, With The Lord's Prayer Or The Shema Yisrael On His Lips.
Prayer
Men
Our Generation
It Said To Me, 'i Am Here — I Am Here — I Am Life, Eternal Life.'
Here I Am
Said
Eternal Life
You Can Take Away My Wife, You Can Take Away My Children, You Can Strip Me Of My Clothes And My Freedom, But There Is One Thing No Person Can Ever Take Away From Me - And That Is My Freedom To Choose How I Will React To What Happens To Me!
Children
Clothes
Wife
...being Human Always Points, And Is Directed, To Something, Or Someone, Other Than Oneself—be It Meaning To Fulfill Or Another Human Being To Encounter. The More One Forgets Himself—by Giving Himself To A Cause To Serve Or Another Person To Love—the More Human He Is And The More He Actualizes Himself.... What Is Called Self-actualization Is Not An Attainable Aim At All, For The Simple Reason That The More One Would Strive For It, The More He Would Miss It. In Other Words, Self-actualization Is Possible Only As A Side-effect Of Self-transcendence.
Simple
Self
Giving
The Point Is Not What We Expect From Life, But Rather What Life Expects From Us.
Sleep [is Like] A Dove Which Has Landed Near One's Hand And Stays There As Long As One Does Not Pay Any Attention To It.
Sleep
Hands
Long
When A Man Cannot Find Meaning, He Numbs Himself With Pleasure.
Men
Pleasure
Find Me
No Man Should Judge Unless He Asks Himself In Absolute Honesty Whether In A Similar Situation He Might Not Have Done The Same.
Honesty
Humility
Men
Since Auschwitz We Know What Man Is Capable Of. And Since Hiroshima We Know What Is At Stake.
Men
Politics
Stakes
Love Is The Only Way To Grasp Another Human Being In The Innermost Core Of His Personality
Love
Personality
Way
The Transitoriness Of Our Existence In Now Way Makes It Meaningless. But It Does Constitute Our Responsibleness; For Everything Hinges Upon Our Realizing The Essentially Transitory Possibilities.
Doe
Way
Realizing
There Are Only Two Races, The Decent And The Indecent.
Race
Two
Decent
Once An Individual's Search For Meaning Is Successful, It Not Only Renders Him Happy But Also Gives Him The Capability To Cope With Suffering
Successful
Giving
Suffering
It Did Not Really Matter What We Expected From Life, But Rather What Life Expected From Us. We Needed To Stop Asking About The Meaning Of Life, And Instead To Think Of Ourselves As Those Who Were Being Questioned By Life—daily And Hourly. Our Answer Must Consist, Not In Talk And Meditation, But In Right Action And In Right Conduct. Life Ultimately Means Taking The Responsibility To Find The Right Answer To Its Problems And To Fulfill The Tasks Which It Constantly Sets For Each Individual.
Life
Mean
Responsibility
It Is Here That We Encounter The Central Theme Of Existentialism: To Live Is To Suffer, To Survive Is To Find Meaning In The Suffering.
Suffering
Encounters
Existentialism
How Can We Dare To Predict The Behavior Of Man? We May Predict The Movements Of A Machine, Of An Automaton; More Than This, We Many Even Try To Predict The Mechanisms Or "dynamisms" Of The Human Psyche As Well. But Man Is More Than Psyche.
Men
Trying
Machines
In His Creative Work The Artist Is Dependent On Sources And Resources Deriving From The Spiritual Unconscious.
Spiritual
Artist
Creative
Austrian Public-opinion Pollsters Recently Reported That Those Held In Highest Esteem By Most Of The People Interviewed Are Neither The Great Artists Nor The Great Scientists, Neither The Great Statesmen Nor The Great Sport Figures, But Those Who Master A Hard Lot With Their Heads Held High.
Sports
Artist
People
I Would Say That Our Patients Never Really Despair Because Of Any Suffering In Itself! Instead, Their Despair Stems In Each Instance From A Doubt As To Whether Suffering Is Meaningful. Man Is Ready And Willing To Shoulder Any Suffering As Soon And As Long As He Can See A Meaning In It.
Meaningful
Men
Long
We Cannot, After All, Judge A Biography By Its Length, By The Number Of Pages In It; We Must Judge By The Richness Of The Contents...sometimes The 'unfinisheds' Are Among The Most Beautiful Symphonies.
Beautiful
Death
Symphony
Our Greatest Human Freedom Is That, Despite Whatever Our Physical Situation Is In Life, We Are Always Free To Choose Our Thoughts!
Situation
Humans
Despite
Here Lies The Chance For A Man Either To Make Use Of Or To Forgo The Opportunities Of Attaining The Moral Values That A Difficult Situation May Afford Him. And This Decides Whether He Is Worthy Of His Sufferings Or Not.
Lying
Opportunity
Men
It Is Well Known That Humor, More Than Anything Else In The Human Make-up, Can Afford An Aloofness And An Ability To Rise Above Any Situation, Even If Only For A Few Seconds.
Rise Above
Well Known
Life Altering
You Don't Create Your Mission In Life - You Detect It.
Journey
Missions
Missions In Life
Happiness Must Ensue. It Cannot Be Pursued
Pursued
Man Is Not Fully Conditioned And Determined But Rather Determines Himself Whether He Gives In To Conditions Or Stands Up To Them. In Other Words, Man Is Ultimately Self-determining. Man Does Not Simply Exist But Always Decides What His Existence Will Be, What He Will Become In The Next Moment.
Men
Self
Giving
We Had To Learn...that It Did Not Really Matter What We Expected From Life But Rather What Life Expected From Us.
Live In The Moment
Matter
Moments
Man's Search For Meaning Is The Primary Motivation In His Life And Not A "secondary Rationalization" Of Instinctual Drives. This Meaning Is Unique And Specific In That It Must And Can Be Fulfilled By Him Alone; Only Then Does It Achieve A Significance Which Will Satisfy His Own Will To Meaning.
Motivation
Unique
Men
Now, It Is My Contention That The Deneuroticization Of Humanity Requires A Rehumanization Of Psychotherapy.
Humanity
Existential
Psychotherapy
Suffering Presents Us With A Challenge: To Find Our Goals And Purpose In Our Lives That Make Even The Worst Situation Worth Living Through.
Worst Situation
Goal
Challenges
Life Asks Of Every Individual A Contribution, And It Is Up To That Individual To Discover What It Should Be
Individual
Should
Contribution
God Is The Partner Of Your Most Intimate Soliloquies
Intimate
Partners
Woe To Him Who Saw No More Sense In His Life, No Aim, No Purpose, And Therefore No Point In Carrying On.
Purpose
Woe
Carrying On
The Crowning Experience Of All, For The Homecoming Man, Is The Wonderful Feeling That, After All He Has Suffered, There Is Nothing He Need Fear Anymore—except His God.
Fear
Men
Feelings
The Existential Vacuum Manifests Itself Mainly In A State Of Boredom.
Boredom
Vacuums
Existential
The Meaning Of Our Existence Is Not Invented By Ourselves, But Rather Detected.
Existence
Mans Search For Meaning
Man Is Capable Of Changing The World For The Better If Possible, And Of Changing Himself For The Better If Necessary.
Men
World
Search For Meaning
Everything Can Be Taken From A Man But One Thing: The Last Of Human Freedoms - To Choose One's Attitude In Any Given Set Of Circumstances, To Choose One's Own Way.
Inspirational
Leadership
Being Happy
I Do Not Forget Any Good Deed Done To Me & I Do Not Carry A Grudge For A Bad One.
Deeds Done
Forget
Good Deeds
Ultimately, We Are Not Subject To The Conditions That Confront Us; Rather, These Conditions Are Subject To Our Decision ... We Must Decide Whether We Will Face Up Or Give In, Whether Or Not We Will Let Ourselves Be Determined By The Conditions.
Giving
Decision
Faces
There Is Nothing In The World, I Venture To Say, That Would So Effectively Help One To Survive Even The Worst Conditions As The Knowledge That There Is A Meaning In One's Life.
World
Venture
Helping
A Human Being Is Not One Thing Among Others; Things Determine Each Other, But Man Is Ultimately Self-determining. What He Becomes-within The Limits Of Endowment And Environment-he Has Made Out Of Himself.
Men
Self
Limits
It Is The Pursuit Of Happiness That Thwarts Happiness.
Happiness
Pursuit Of Happiness
Pursuit
One Can Choose One's Attitude In Any Given Set Of Circumstances.
Freedom
Attitude
Positive Thinking
There Are Two Races Of Men In This World But Only These Two: The Race Of The Decent Man And The Race Of The Indecent Man.
Men
Race
Two
Success Is Total Self-acceptance.
Acceptance
Self
Self Acceptance
What Is Demanded Of Man Is Not, As Some Existential Philosophers Teach, To Endure The Meaninglessness Of Life, But Rather To Bear His Incapacity To Grasp Its Unconditional Meaningfulness In Rational Terms.
Men
Bears
Philosopher
When A Person Can’t Find A Deep Sense Of Meaning, They Distract Themselves With Pleasure.
Pleasure
Persons
The Incurable Sufferer Is Given Very Little Opportunity To Be Proud Of His Suffering And To Consider It Ennobling Rather Than Degrading" So That "he Is Not Only Unhappy, But Also Ashamed Of Being Unhappy.
Opportunity
Suffering
Unhappy
A Sound Philosophy Of Life, I Think, May Be The Most Valuable Asset For A Psychiatrist To Have When He Is Treating A Patient.
Philosophy
Thinking
Mentor
Decisions, Not Conditions, Determine What A Man Is.
Men
Decision
Determine
The Quest For Meaning Is The Key To Mental Health And Human Flourishing
Keys
Quests
Mental Health
The Salvation Of Man Is Through Love And In Love.
Love
Life
Men
I Became Acquainted With Those Martyrs Whose Behavior In Camp, Whose Suffering And Death, Bore Witness To The Fact That The Last Inner Freedom Cannot Be Lost.
Attitude
Suffering And Death
Lasts
The More One Forgets One’s Own Self, The More Human The Person Becomes.
Self
Forget
Humans
View Life As A Series Of Movie Frames, The Ending And Meaning May Not Be Apparent Until The Very End Of The Movie, And Yet, Each Of The Hundreds Of Individual Frames Has Meaning Within The Context Of The Whole Movie.
Spiritual
Views
May
It Is This Spiritual Freedom - Which Cannot Be Taken Away - That Makes Life Meaningful And Purposeful.
Meaningful
Spiritual
Taken
We Who Lived In Concentration Camps Can Remember The Men Who Walked Through The Huts Comforting Others, Giving Away Their Last Piece Of Bread. They May Have Been Few In Number, But They Offer Sufficient Proof That Everything Can Be Taken From A Man But One Thing: The Last Of The Human Freedoms -- To Choose One's Attitude In Any Given Set Of Circumstances, To Choose One's Own Way.
Life
Positive
Leadership
Understanding Quotes: Their Essence and Application

Quotes, or quotations, are powerful tools in communication, encapsulating ideas, emotions, and wisdom in concise expressions. They serve various purposes across different contexts, from academic writing to everyday conversation.

1. Defining Quotes

A quote is a repetition of someone else's statement or thoughts. It can be a direct replication of words spoken or written by another individual, often used to support arguments, provide evidence, or convey profound insights.


2. The Importance of Quotes

2.1. Enhancing Credibility

Incorporating quotes from authoritative sources can bolster the credibility of your work. By referencing experts or primary sources, you demonstrate thorough research and a solid foundation for your arguments.


2.2. Providing Evidence

Quotes serve as concrete evidence to support claims. In academic and professional writing, they validate points made, offering readers a basis to trust the information presented.


2.3. Conveying Emotions and Perspectives

Quotes can encapsulate emotions and perspectives succinctly. They allow writers to express complex feelings or viewpoints through the words of others, often more eloquently than paraphrasing.


3. Types of Quotes

3.1. Direct Quotes

Direct quotes involve copying the exact words from a source, enclosed in quotation marks. They are used when the original wording is significant or particularly well-expressed.


3.2. Indirect Quotes (Paraphrasing)

Indirect quotes restate the original message in your own words. While not enclosed in quotation marks, they still require proper attribution to the original source.


3.3. Block Quotes

Block quotes are lengthy direct quotations, formatted as a separate block of text. They are typically used for quotes exceeding a certain length, varying by citation style. For instance, in APA style, quotes longer than 40 words are formatted as block quotes.



4. Proper Usage of Quotes


4.1. Contextual Relevance

Ensure that the quote you choose is relevant to the topic and adds value to your content. Avoid inserting quotes solely for decorative purposes.


4.2. Integration into Your Writing

Seamlessly integrate quotes into your writing. Introduce them appropriately and follow up with analysis or commentary to connect them to your main points.


4.3. Attribution and Citation

Always attribute quotes to their original authors and provide proper citations according to the required style guide (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).


5. Common Mistakes to Avoid


5.1. Overusing Quotes

Relying too heavily on quotes can overshadow your voice. Use them sparingly to support your arguments, not replace them.


5.2. Lack of Analysis

Presenting a quote without analysis or explanation can leave readers questioning its relevance. Always follow up with your interpretation or discussion.


5.3. Misquoting or Taking Out of Context

Ensure that quotes are accurate and not taken out of context, as this can mislead readers and undermine your credibility.



6. Quotes in Different Contexts


6.1. Academic Writing

In academic writing, quotes are used to support arguments, provide evidence, and engage with existing literature. Proper citation is crucial to avoid plagiarism.


6.2. Journalism

Journalists use quotes to provide firsthand accounts, add authenticity, and present multiple perspectives within a story.


6.3. Literature and Creative Writing

In literature, quotes can be used to convey character voices, themes, and stylistic elements. They enrich narratives and provide depth to storytelling.



7. Punctuation and Formatting


Understanding the correct punctuation and formatting of quotes is essential:


Quotation Marks: Always enclose direct quotes within quotation marks.


Punctuation Placement: In American English, periods and commas are placed inside quotation marks, while colons and semicolons are placed outside.


Block Quotes: For longer quotes, format them as block quotes without quotation marks, and indent the entire block.



8. Ethical Considerations


Ethical use of quotes involves accurate representation, proper attribution, and respect for intellectual property. Misuse can lead to plagiarism, which carries serious academic and professional consequences.

9. Tools for Managing Quotes


Utilize tools like citation generators and plagiarism checkers to manage quotes effectively. These tools help ensure proper formatting and originality in your writing.



Conclusion


Quotes are invaluable in enriching content, providing evidence, and conveying complex ideas succinctly. When used appropriately, they enhance the quality and credibility of your writing. Always ensure relevance, proper integration, and ethical usage to maximize their impact.


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