Man is not fully conditioned and determined but rather determines himself whether he gives in to conditions or stands up to them.

Life requires of man spiritual elasticity, so that he may temper his efforts to the chances that are offered.

[Speaking of his experience in a concentration camp:] As we said before, any attempt to restore a man's inner strength in the camp had first to succeed in showing him some future goal...Woe to him who saw no more sense in his life, no aim, no purpose, and therefore no point in carrying on. He was soon lost.

A life of short duration...could be so rich in joy and love that it could contain more meaning than a life lasting eighty years.

Our main motivation for living is our will to find meaning in life.

Life can be pulled by goals just as surely as it can be pushed by drives.

To the European, it is a characteristic of the American culture that, again and again, one is commanded and ordered to 'be happy.' But happiness cannot be pursued; it must ensue. One must have a reason to 'be happy.' Once the reason is found, however, one becomes happy automatically. As we see, a human being is not one in pursuit of happiness but rather in search of a reason to become happy, last but not least, through actualizing the potential meaning inherent and dormant in a given situation.