Last week, I wrote about Meaning – shocker, I know.  But from that, came some great discussion in my office.  I write about meaning often.  I talk about meaning just about every day.  I study the idea of meaning all the time.

Sometimes I forget, not everybody does.  And not everybody understands the idea of “Meaning” like I do.  Kind of like how I don’t know how to fix a damn thing in my house like other people do…

Sometimes ideas like meaning are pretty ethereal – like the ideas of “values”, which Viktor Frankl wrote quite a bit about.

So inspired by one of those discussions this past week, I thought it might be helpful to discuss the idea of “Values” and how they impact mental health and wellness.

For Frankl, values are the primary ways through which a person discovers and fulfills meaning in life. They are not abstract ideals — they are concrete pathways to meaning.

Frankl’s Three Categories of Values

Frankl argued that humans can fulfill meaning through three types of values:

1. Creative Values (What we give to the world)

These are realized through what we contribute — our work, actions, creations, and commitments.

Examples:

• creating art

• doing meaningful work

• solving problems

• helping others through action

This reflects Frankl’s idea that meaning is found in responsibility and contribution, not in passive satisfaction.

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2. Experiential Values (What we receive from the world)

Meaning can also come from experiencing something or someone deeply.

Examples:

• experiencing beauty, nature, or art

• loving another person

• appreciating goodness or truth

• feeling connected to life

Frankl believed love is the highest experiential value, famously writing that love allows us to “see” the essential inner value of another human being.

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3. Attitudinal Values (How we approach suffering or fate)

Frankl saw these as the highest form of value because they are available to every human being, even when all else is taken away.

Attitudinal values are about:

• the stance we take toward unavoidable suffering

• dignity in hardship

• courage, endurance, and moral choice

This stems from his own experience in concentration camps, where he observed that while circumstances can be stripped away, freedom of attitude remains.

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Values as Paths to Meaning, Not Abstract Ideals

Frankl emphasized that:

• Values are not universal templates to adopt.

• Meaning is personal, discovered in concrete situations.

• Values guide responsibility — each person must decide “what life expects of them.”

He wrote:

“Life is not primarily a quest for pleasure or a quest for power;
it is a quest for meaning.”

Values are the practical tools for fulfilling that meaning.

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Key Ideas Frankl Emphasizes About Values

● Values give direction to freedom

Humans are free, but freedom without values leads to emptiness.
Values give structure, responsibility, and purpose.

● Values are chosen — not imposed

Frankl believed each moment demands a unique response.
Values guide but do not dictate the answer.

● Even suffering can be “transformed” into value

If suffering cannot be avoided, we can still find meaning through:

• attitude

• integrity

• moral courage

This is the basis of attitudinal values.

● Values are situational

There is no “one ultimate value.”
Life constantly presents situations asking:
“What is the right action now?”