Page 5 - Mecklenburg_Medicine_September-2020

President’s Letter
Finding Meaning in Life
IBy John R. Allbert, MD
recently had my left knee replaced and knew the recovery would
be a challenge. To maximize my mental approach to rehab, I read
Jay Bilas’ book “Toughness” and Viktor Frankl’s classic, “Man’s
Search for Meaning” during my recovery. Bilas is a former Duke
basketball player and current ESPN broadcaster; Frankl was an
Austrian psychiatrist and Nazi concentration camp survivor.
Bilas’ book focuses on courage, resilience, persistence, trust
and being a good teammate. He writes about the importance of
communication among teammates, stating, “Communication is
about connecting and being connected. It is also about trust and
commitment.” Two pieces of advice he gives to basketball players
that I found particularly applicable to us in health care are: “Be hard wrongly the first time as you are about to act now. In so doing, it invites
to play against, and easy to play with” and “Make getting better
“Communication is about every day your goal.”
connecting and being The brutal conditions
in the concentration camp
connected. It is also about Frankl described are
trust and commitment.” unimaginable and difficult
to read. How man can be
so cruel to another man is
frightening. Although many prisoners died of infection and murder,
many others died of what some would call, “give-up-itis” or “when
your ‘give-a-damn’ gets up and leaves.” Prisoners often predicted by
the look in a fellow prisoner’s eyes that he would be the next to die.
Soon after, the prisoner refused to get out of bed at 5 a.m. despite
the yelling and beating. He lay in his own feces and urine. When the
end was near, he pulled out a final cigarette he had stashed away and
smoked it right before he died … all within 24-48 hours.
Frankl focused not on why people died, but why anyone amid
horrific suffering survived. His experience confirmed for him that life in a concentration camp. My readings
is not primarily about seeking pleasure “All you need is
or power, but rather, “The greatest task someone to love,
is to find meaning in his or her life. If
man knows the ‘why’ for his existence, something to do and
he will be able to bear almost any
‘how.’” According to Frankl, the three something to look
ways to find meaning are: forward to, and I
1. Create a work or do a deed (Frankl got all three.”
had a book he wanted
to complete).
2. Experience something (beauty in art, nature, or culture) or
love someone (he loved his wife and could not wait to hold
her again).
3. By the attitude one takes toward an unavoidable suffering (such as
being in a concentration camp, having a severe chronic illness, or
experiencing the loss of a loved one).
He states, “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.”
Frankl cautioned that in his time (not unlike 2020), “The world is
in a bad state, but everything will become still worse unless each of
“Be hard to play us does his best. Each man is questioned
by life, and he can only answer to life
against, and easy
to play with.”
by answering for his own life; to life he
can only respond by being responsible.”
Finally, he advised, “Live life as if you were
living for the second time and had acted as
you to see the present as the past, and the past can be changed.”
In a similar vein, Bilas’ book includes a portion of the West Point
Cadet Prayer, “Encourage us in our endeavors to live above the common
level of life. Make us choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong.”
After nearly 50 years in business, Queens Crown full-service gas
station closed at the end of July. Danny Queen, who is in his late 50s, is
leasing the land for more money than he would have earned by keeping
the station open. I mentioned to him that many people have difficulty
finding fulfillment and happiness in “Encourage us in
retirement. He answered as if he had
just read Frankl’s book but with a our endeavors to live
southern perspective, “I will be fine. All above the common
you need is someone to love, something
level of life. Make us
choose the harder
to do and something to look forward to,
and I got all three.”
My recovery, which has been
right instead of the
easier wrong.”
successful so far, in no way compares to
the suffering experienced by prisoners
did remind me, however, that I had a
choice in my attitude, I needed to focus on getting better every day and,
by understanding what brings meaning to my life — the “why” to my
existence — I could bear almost any “how”.
A negative attitude intensifies pain, deepens disappointments,
diminishes pleasure and makes us more susceptible to illness, addiction
and early death. In this time of a pandemic and political upheaval, don’t
let your “give-a-damn” get up and leave. Choose the harder right and be
an example to your team and your patients by finding meaning in your
life every day.
Respectfully yours,
Mecklenburg Medicine • September 2020 | 5