Why 2025 Can Be Your Year of Purpose and Possibility

As we begin 2025, let’s hope for a great year ahead—maybe even better than the last. Whether 2024 was a challenging or good year, a new year gives us a fresh start and the chance to focus on what’s possible.
 
What we expect and how we think can make a big difference in the kind of year we’ll have. By staying positive, setting goals, and making the most of each day, we can turn 2025 into a year of growth and happiness. Let’s start this new chapter by believing that brighter days are approaching.
 
 
A remarkable story.
 
The following is the true story of a man who endured the horrors of a concentration camp during World War II. While countless lives were lost in unimaginable suffering, he discovered a sense of meaning that gave him the strength to survive and enabled him to build a purposeful and impactful life after his release.
 
His journey is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the power of finding meaning, even in the darkest of times.
 
 
The true story of finding meaning in the horrors of Auschwitz.
 
Viktor Frankl’s life is a powerful example of how finding meaning can help us overcome even the hardest challenges. Born in Vienna in 1905, he loved psychology and philosophy from a young age. He became a doctor who specialised in helping people with depression and preventing suicide, focusing on how people could find purpose in their lives.
 
During World War II, Frankl and his family were sent to Nazi concentration camps, including Theresienstadt, Auschwitz, and Dachau. These camps were places of intense physical, emotional, and psychological torment, and Frankl’s experiences there profoundly shaped his philosophy of finding meaning in life.
  
Here are some of the key hardships he faced:
 
Loss of Loved Ones.
 
Frankl’s family, including his parents, brother, and his pregnant wife, Tilly, were sent to the camps with him. Tragically, they did not survive. Frankl was separated from Tilly upon arrival at Auschwitz, and she later died in Bergen-Belsen. The loss of his entire immediate family deeply impacted him, but he resolved to survive and find meaning in his suffering.
 
Dehumanisation.
 
In the camps, prisoners were stripped of their belongings, including clothes and personal items. Frankl described the brutal process of losing his identity as prisoners were shaved, tattooed with numbers, and treated as mere objects. This systematic dehumanisation was designed to crush the prisoners’ spirits.
 
Extreme Physical Hardship.
 
Frankl faced relentless physical abuse, starvation, and backbreaking labour. Prisoners were given minimal food and forced to work in freezing temperatures, often with inadequate clothing. Beatings, sickness, and exhaustion were daily realities. Frankl himself was reduced to a fragile physical state, losing significant weight and suffering from illnesses.
 
Psychological Torment.
 
The constant threat of death loomed over all prisoners. People were regularly selected for execution, often without warning. Frankl witnessed the deaths of countless fellow inmates, both in the gas chambers and through starvation or disease. This psychological strain was compounded by the complete uncertainty about whether he would survive or ever see his loved ones again.
 
Despite these horrors, Frankl sought to maintain his inner strength by focusing on small moments of meaning. He imagined reuniting with his wife, delivering lectures about his experiences, and reflecting on the beauty of nature, even in the bleakest moments.
 
These acts of mental resilience helped him survive and formed the foundation of his philosophy that life can hold meaning even in unimaginable suffering.
 
You can choose how you respond.
 
Frankl realised something important: even when everything is taken away, people still have the freedom to choose how they respond. He noticed that people who survived often had a sense of purpose—whether it was thinking about loved ones, dreaming of the future, or holding onto a strong belief.
 
Frankl gave himself hope by imagining the day he would teach others what he had learned.
 
After the war, Frankl turned his experiences into a new approach to therapy called logotherapy. He believed that the main drive in life is not pleasure or power but finding meaning.
 
According to Frankl, we can find purpose in three ways: through work or achievements, relationships and love, or how we handle unavoidable suffering. He taught that while we cannot control everything that happens to us, we can always control our attitude toward it, which gives us the power to live with dignity.
 
A best-selling book.
 
In 1946, Frankl wrote Man’s Search for Meaning, a book that shares his experiences in the concentration camps and explains logotherapy. The book became a global success, touching millions of readers with its message that meaning can be found even in the darkest times.
 
After the war, Frankl rebuilt his life, remarried, and had a daughter. He spent the rest of his life teaching, writing, and sharing his ideas with the world.
 
His story continues to inspire people, showing that even in the face of great suffering, we can choose to find purpose, grow stronger, and help others do the same. His message is clear: life always has meaning, and it is up to us to discover it.
 
 
What can we learn? 
 
As we finish this reflection and look ahead to 2025, Viktor Frankl’s story reminds us of the incredible strength we all have inside. Life will always bring challenges, but how we respond to them shapes the kind of year and life we create.
 
Like Frankl, we can find purpose in our relationships, dreams, and even in facing tough times. Let’s make 2025 a year where we focus on growing stronger, staying hopeful, and creating meaning in everything we do.
 
Remember, brighter days aren’t just ahead—they start with our choices today. Let’s choose courage, kindness, and purpose as we build a year of hope and possibility.
 
 
Thoughts for the week 

1. How will you choose to respond to challenging situations this year?
2. What is your purpose or goal for 2025 that will keep you motivated?
3. Who in your life brings meaning, and how can you nurture those connections?
4. What choices can you make today to create a brighter tomorrow? 

Well, that’s it for this week. Have a wonderful weekend, and keep believing.
 
Warm regards

John

https://jdmindcoach.com/product/off-the-wall-how-to-develop-world-class-mental-resilience/