First place Quote by Viktor Emil Frankl
““Thus it can be seen that mental health is based on a certain degree of tension, the tension between what one has already achieved and what one still ought to accomplish, or the gap between what one is and what one should become. Such a tension is inherent in the human being and therefore is indispensable to mental well-being. We should not, then, be hesitant about challenging man with a potential meaning for him to fulfill. It is only thus that we evoke his will to meaning from its state of latency. I consider it a dangerous misconception of mental hygiene to assume that what man needs in the first place is equilibrium or, as it is called in biology "homeostasis", i.e., a tensionless state. What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for a worthwhile goal, a freely chosen task. What he needs is not the discharge of tension at any cost but the call of a potential meaning waiting to be fulfilled by him.””
About This Quote
Source Book: Man's Search for Meaning, 1946
Mental well‑being arises from a productive tension between current self and aspirational self, not from a static equilibrium.
In simple terms: Tension drives growth, not calm.
Embrace purposeful struggle.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- career development
- personal goals
- therapy
- education
- creative projects
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What goal ignites your inner tension?
- How can you turn discomfort into purpose?
Assuming equilibrium is healthy can lead to stagnation and loss of motivation.