One positive development in our society over the last few years is an increased focus on mental health. However, it seems that we are defining “good” mental health in a way that is different from previous generations.

I was recently reminded of this while re-reading some works by Viktor Frankl, the holocaust survivor who became a noted neurologist, psychiatrist, philosopher, and author. Regarding mental health, Frankl wrote this…

“Mental health is based on a certain degree of tension – the tension between what one has already achieved and what one still ought to accomplish, or the gap between what one is and what one should become. What man actually needs is not a tensionless state, but rather the striving and struggling for a worthwhile goal, a freely chosen task.”

That’s a very different description of mental health than what we cling to today. Today, it is believed that “good mental health” can only be achieved through the absence of tension. Not only is this an unrealistic expectation; it is a dangerous one because it robs us of our inherent agency. It compounds the problem of mental health by highlighting our circumstances instead of emphasizing the human ability to grow through adversity.

As Frankl points out, the standard we should use for developing “good” mental health is not the existence, or not, of tension but the existence of a worthwhile goal. In other words, it’s about the “why” not the “what.”

If you have a well-defined “why” to live for, you will be able to persevere through the tensions of life in a way that builds your self-esteem and you will thrive through adversity.

So what’s the “why” that you’re pursuing in 2025?