People who endure hardships are a source of inspiration.
Some become bitter. The inspirational people are those who have struggled with life and came out victorious. How do they do it?
They embody a particular truth about life: What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.
They are people who give a positive, growth-inducing reframe to suffering.
Contemplate on the following selections by Frankl about the process in which tension is an impetus for growth:
“There is a suffering beyond all sickness, a fundamental human suffering which belongs to human life by the very nature and meaning of life…” (The Doctor and the Soul, Frankl, p. 113)
“In suffering from something we move inwardly away from it, we establish a distance between our personality and this something. As long as we are still suffering from a condition that ought not to be, we remain in a state of tension between what actually is on one hand and what ought to be on the other hand. And only while in this state of tension can we continue to envision the ideal. As we have already seen, this even applies to the person who has despaired of himself…He could not sit in judgment upon himself if he did not already possess the worth and dignity of a judge – of a man who has perceived what ought to be as against what at the moment is. Suffering therefore establishes a fruitful, one might say a revolutionary, tension in that it makes for emotional awareness of what ought not to be. To the degree that a person identifies himself with things as they are, he eliminates his distance from them and forfeits the fruitful tension between what is and what ought to be.” (The Doctor and the Soul, p. 108)
In the next selection Frankl talks about spiritual growth as a kind of spiritual resistance-training:
“Man does not need homeostasis at any cost, but rather a sound amount of tension such as that which is aroused by the demand quality inherent in the meaning to human existence. Like iron filings in a magnetic field, man’s life is put in order through his orientation toward meaning. Thereby a field of tension is established between what man is and what he ought to do. In this field existential dynamics is operating. By this dynamics man is pulled rather than pushed. “(Psychotherapy and Existentialism, p. 21)
After contemplating the meaning of this, consider the meaning of this selection by Rabbi Natan, Rebbe Nachman’s student par excellence. He writes about the power of force (ko’ach hamach’riach) and the power of attraction (ko’ach ha’mo’shech).
Note: My translation of Rabbi Natan’s terms are based on my understanding that his expression power of force is akin to what Frankl describes as being pushed by our drives, while his expression power of attraction is akin to what Frankl describes as being pulled by our values. It connotes what we are deeply attracted to in our essence.
“Life’s challenges all stem from the power of force. This is a power in the world that threatens to distance us [from our goal].
“It is easy to overcome the power of force by constantly pulling ourselves back to our soul-root (to our point of truth)…because the power of attraction is actually much stronger than the power of force. The power of attraction is always active. The power of force is activated only momentarily, for the duration of time required to distance us.
“As soon as the force is removed, the power of attraction brings us back…because the soul by nature is always attracted to its true source …
“We have come into the world only for this purpose. Engaging in life’s conflicts and exercising the skills required to make the power of attraction triumph over the power of force results in remarkable strengths and true healing…This can be compared to the springs of a clock held back and then released…”(Likutei Halachot Orach Haim Vol III p. 353 [p. 177 in the book’s Hebrew lettering])