In Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl recounts his harrowing years as a prisoner in Nazi concentration camps and explores how humans find meaning even in the darkest circumstances. One of his most striking observations is about the seemingly innocent habit prisoners developed of talking endlessly about food.

He writes:

“I always regarded the discussions about food as dangerous. Is it not wrong to provoke the organism with such detailed and affective pictures of delicacies when it has somehow managed to adapt itself to extremely small rations and low calories? Though it may afford momentary psychological relief, it is an illusion which physiologically, surely, must not be without danger.”

What Frankl meant was that, in the extreme deprivation of the camps, such fantasies could do more harm than good. Imagining rich meals and desserts, even as a temporary escape, risked disturbing the fragile psychological balance that allowed prisoners to survive. The body and mind had painfully adapted to scarcity; indulging in vivid dreams of abundance only reopened the wound of hunger.

This passage offers a timeless lesson that extends far beyond the walls of the concentration camp. It speaks to the danger of clinging to illusions — not just physical ones, but emotional and spiritual ones too.

The Danger of Self-Help Books & Manifestation techniques

Today, many self-help or spiritual teachings encourage us to visualize our dreams in vivid detail — to picture the perfect partner, the ideal home, or a life filled with joy and ease.

While imagination can indeed be powerful, it can also turn into a subtle form of self-sabotage. When we repeatedly imagine a “wonderful man” who will love us perfectly, or a future life that looks a certain way, we might actually be awakening a deep emotional hunger for something that doesn’t exist — or perhaps isn’t meant to.

Instead of helping us grow, these fantasies can distance us from our current reality, making it harder to find meaning, peace, and joy in the life we already have. The more vivid and detailed the imagined future becomes, the more it risks making the present feel empty in comparison.

Frankl’s wisdom reminds us that real fulfillment begins not in imagining what could be, but in making meaning of what is. Acceptance doesn’t mean giving up on hope — it means rooting our hopes in reality, not in illusion.

So rather than imagining a future love or life as the cure to our emptiness, perhaps the deeper work is to learn to feel whole in the present, to develop gratitude for the small things, and to trust that the right experiences will unfold naturally from that grounded place.

After all, when we stop chasing illusions, life itself — in its raw, imperfect truth — becomes the very thing we were searching for.

How I changed my Life based on plain Reality Principles

When I coach people, I meet them where they are and I show them the way to progress from where they are, no illusions, no dreams, just simple actions steps towards a better life.

Most people already have everything to be happy and fulfilled but they can’t see it or put it into action. They are so busy imagining impossible dreams that they become disabled at using the pieces of woods they already have to build the boat.

That’s my work – freedom yes, but freedom grounded into realism and what’s accessible to you here and now + some spiritual knowledge that helps you make the most informed decisions based on the laws of evolution: what the universe will allow and what it won’t.

Contact me for Personalized Life Coaching – I’m here for you!

With Love & Adventure,

Emi