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“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response.”

Often attributed to Viktor Frankl; not found in his writings

MindPhilosophy

The story behind the card

Viktor Frankl (1905–1997) was an Austrian psychiatrist who survived Auschwitz. In Man's Search for Meaning (1946) he argued that no one can take away our freedom to choose our attitude, so the line suits him, yet it has never been found in his writings. The American psychologist Rollo May described this pause between stimulus and response in 1963. Stephen Covey spread the idea, linked to Frankl, in 1989; he later said he had read it in a library book whose author he had forgotten.

Türkçe oku
“Uyaranla tepki arasında bir boşluk vardır. Bu boşlukta tepkimizi seçme gücümüz yatar.”
Sıklıkla Viktor Frankl'a atfedilir; yazılarında geçmez

Viktor Frankl (1905–1997), Auschwitz'ten sağ çıkmış Avusturyalı bir psikiyatristtir. 1946'da yazdığı İnsanın Anlam Arayışı'nda, karşılaştığımız duruma nasıl bir tavır alacağımızı seçme özgürlüğünü kimsenin elimizden alamayacağını savunur. Söz bu yüzden ona çok yakışır, ama yazılarında hiç bulunamamıştır. Amerikalı psikolog Rollo May, uyaranla tepki arasındaki bu duraksamayı 1963'te anlatmıştı. Stephen Covey düşünceyi 1989'da Frankl'ın adıyla birlikte yaygınlaştırdı; sonradan onu bir kütüphane kitabında okuduğunu, ama yazarını unuttuğunu söyledi.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Viktor Frankl
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