The Human Factor
There are certain scientific laws that seem to apply to every area of the natural world. They appear to apply consistently and universally. Sir Isaac Newton taught us that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Newton’s theory became a law because it is provable, repeatable, and verifiable. Human beings seem to be the wild card in the scientific, natural world.
One of the most powerful books I have ever read is Man’s Search for Meaning by Dr. Viktor Frankl. Dr. Frankl was a highly educated, well-known, and respected behavioral scientist. He lived in Austria in the early part of the 20th century. He had a wife, family, and successful professional practice until the Nazis invaded Austria at the beginning of World War II. Then, his possessions were taken from him, his family was killed, and he was placed in a concentration camp where he was tortured for years. As horrific as his circumstances were, they gave Dr. Frankl the opportunity to discover something about himself and human nature.
Dr. Frankl learned that throughout the natural world, there is a stimulus that is followed by a predictable reaction. However, he discovered that, in human beings, between this stimulus and reaction, there is a brief—almost imperceptible—void that we are allowed to fill with a unique element I would call free will. Free will allows us to control our reaction regardless of the stimulus. If people confront us with hate, violence, and torture, we can react in kind or choose to respond with love, acceptance, and tolerance.
In the midst of the horrors inside a concentration camp, Viktor Frankl discovered that his captors could take away all of his possessions, his family, and even his life, but they could not take away his free will and make him react in a way he chose not to react. Thankfully, few of us will ever be faced with the challenges that Dr. Viktor Frankl and his family had to deal with, but we can still invoke our free will in any situation.
For every disaster, defeat, and downturn that may destroy a person, you can find another individual facing the same circumstances that reacts to the same stimulus and emerges with success and victory while overcoming the challenge. Among the most powerful gifts we have been given as human beings is this element of free will. In order to reach our potential, we must recognize it, utilize it, and seize the day.
As you go through your day today, remember that we don’t control the stimuli, but we do control our reaction.
Today’s the day!