T

September 7th

OUR HIDDEN POWER

“Consider who you are. Above all, a human being, carrying no

greater power than your own reasoned choice, which oversees all

other things, and is free from any other master.”

—EPICTETUS, DISCOURSES, 2.10.1

he psychologist Viktor Frankl spent three years imprisoned in various
concentration camps, including Auschwitz. His family and his wife had
been killed, his life’s work destroyed, his freedom taken from him. He quite
literally had nothing left. Yet, as he discovered after much thought, he still
retained one thing: the ability to determine what this suffering meant. Not
even the Nazis could take that from him.
Further, Frankl realized that he could actually find positives in his
situation. Here was an opportunity to continue testing and exploring his
psychological theories (and perhaps revise them). He could still be of
service to others. He even took some solace in the fact that his loved ones
were spared the pain and misery that he faced daily in that camp.
Your hidden power is your ability to use reason and make choices,
however limited or small. Think about the areas of your life where you are
under duress or weighed down by obligation. What are the choices
available to you, day after day? You might be surprised at how many there
actually are. Are you taking advantage? Are you finding the positives?