When examining existentialism, many names find their way into the discussion. Some examples – Jean Paul Sartre, Viktor E. Frankl, and Martin Buber – offer a mix of optimism, pessimism, and realism through varying searches for the meaning or the truth of existence.

When examining these beliefs from a personal perspective, it is impossible not to ask varying questions to one self. As an existentialist, it is necessary to place personal ideals in one of many categories, and to retain a view that perhaps everything in life does not happen for a reason, as much as it may be comforting to believe so.

To functionally assess meaning by existential standards it is necessary to clarify for oneself what roles ethics and morals should play in the pursuit of the good life. Sartre’s beliefs lay strongly in the wasteland of n

In the end, all that matters is if you feel as though you have gotten the best out of your life. No one can tell you how to live your life, nor make your decisions for you. Life is our teacher. No matter how much suffering we endure, there is no doubt that we learn from our experience. Man must be willing to accept the challenges that God (or higher power) brings to him. It is those exact challenges that define us individually, as humans, who are in search for the meaning of the good life.

Just the other day, I was watching the Montel Williams show. The topic was “My Family Blames Me for a Murder”. On this particular episode, there was a woman who at just the age of fourteen years old, shot and killed her father. She killed her father because from the age five until fourteen, he was molesting her. She had soon learned that her younger sister had fallen victim to their father’s abuse, as well. The woman said she knew she had to take care of the situation, and ensure that it would never happen again. She did just that, by shooting her father, twice in the head. It was amazing to watch this woman, and see just how she was able to keep herself together while telling her story. The woman was crying, but mostly because she had not spoken to her sister in over twelve years. Her younger sister did not understand why she killed their father, and resented her because of it. It baffled Montel how this woman was able to move on with her life, and how she even made it as far as she had. Her response to him was, “Montel, from that experience, it defined my life and made me the person that I am today.” As traumatic an experience as it was, she mustered up the courage to move on with her life, and used her experience as a way to define her own existence. Man must not be mistaken; life is unpredictable, and suffering is unavoidable. If we know this to be true, why not remain optimistic in this journey through life.

There are no specific set of rules that man must follow, in order to live the good life. It comes down having the freedom to make your own choices. We are in favor of what is in the best interest for ourselves. However, man must respect that his decisions not only affect him, but all of humanity. Even if we decide not to choose, we have still made a choice, and that choice ultimately affects all of mankind.

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