Remember to exercise this freedom. Our circumstances may be beyond our control. Our spouse, our boss or the person driving next to us may not act as we wish them to. Trying to control that is a waste of time. What would serve us better is to work on controlling our response to their actions. There is a big difference between giving someone the finger and laughing at their lack of consideration and saying, “thanks for helping me practice controlling my anger and growing my patience.”

In case this sounds like something that is only possible to people is easy situations, let’s look at the man who gave us this quote. Victor Frankl was a Jewish psychologist who was imprisoned in a concentration camp. He had his entire family killed, yet still found a way to give himself the motivation to continue. Knowing by surviving, he would be able to tell the story of what happened to him and help prevent it in the future, he was able to endure. His book, Man’s Search for Meaning is a must read.

Next time we think controlling our reaction is beyond our control, remember a man sentenced to death in a concentration camp could manage, so can we.