Find Inspiration in Others

Theme: Learn from those who have overcome adversity.

Focus: Look outward for motivation and strategies.

Task: Research or read about one inspiring person and write what you can learn from their story.

Journal Reflection:

Who inspires you and why?
What qualities or strategies do they use that you admire?
How can you apply those qualities to your own challenges?

Grim’s Journal Entry:

Who I researched:

I researched Viktor Frankl. What I learn from his story is that pain doesn’t have to be the end of the story; it can be the beginning of something meaningful. He showed that even when everything is taken from you, you still have the power to choose how you respond. That gives me hope. I’m learning that I don’t have to let PTSD define me. I can take the complex parts of my life and use them to grow, help others, and find purpose again. His story reminds me that healing doesn’t mean forgetting — it means learning how to carry it differently. One of the most powerful quotes I know is from Viktor Frankl – “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms — to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”

1. Who inspires you and why?

Viktor Frankl definitely inspires me. He survived the Holocaust and went through things most of us couldn’t even imagine, and yet, he didn’t give up. He believed that even in the middle of the worst pain, we can still find meaning. That really hits home for me. If someone like him can live through all that and still hold onto purpose, it reminds me there’s still hope in my own story, too.

2. What qualities or strategies do they use that you admire?

The biggest thing I admire about Frankl is that he believed we always have a choice, especially in how we respond to suffering. He couldn’t control the horrors around him, but he held onto who he was inside. That takes serious strength. I also admire that he didn’t sugarcoat anything; he acknowledged the pain and trauma, but still made something meaningful out of it. He didn’t just survive; he transformed his pain into something that helped others.

3. How can you apply those qualities to your own challenges?

Living with PTSD isn’t easy. Some days it feels like it controls everything, my thoughts, my sleep, my reactions. But when I think about Frankl, I’m reminded that while I can’t erase what happened to me, I can choose how I live with it. I can choose to keep showing up. I can try to find meaning in the mess, maybe by helping someone else who’s struggling, or by being honest about what I go through instead of hiding it. Frankl demonstrated that meaning can still exist even in the darkest of places. That gives me something to hold on to