The Survival Mechanism : The Mechanism That Allows Survival In The Most Demanding Circumstances

The Definition

Survival = the state or fact of continuing to live or exist, typically in spite of an accident, ordeal, or difficult circumstances.

Mechanism = a natural or established process by something takes place or is brought about.

When the two words above are combined it becomes a powerful process. Survival mechanism, the most crucial mechanism present in a living organism.

All living organisms possess this. This keeps them alive, sometimes in the most demanding situation. As humans, we are capable of producing amazing feats using this mechanism either consciously or unconsciously. It is ever present in us but for the uninformed it is only activated when situation goes out of control.

Interestingly, animals are able to control it. It can be seen in a reptile when it camouflages it self to escape from it’s predator just to survive another day. We in the other hand are still in the process of learning about our magnificent brain. Hence we are made to believe that we are not in control of this mechanism. So it is no wonder when something out of norm happens the majority describes it as a miracle. There are many stories which we can relate to, for an example when a pregnant mother who out of a sudden acquires superpower to carry her car which met in an accident just to safe her seven-year-old son. Heard some stories like this before?

You probably have more interesting stories. But why exactly at that specific moment the said individual miraculously portrays amazing strength which normally would have not been possible? The answer is quite simple actually. It is the survival mechanism in action. The event triggered the mechanism to occur and to complete it’s mission which is to survive.

The Analogy

By default, we humans have it pre-installed in our system. To understand it, you can use the SRS Airbag mechanism in your car as an analogy. Can you see the airbag on a normal driving condition? No. Just because you can’t see, it doesn’t mean that it is not there. The airbag is pre-installed and has a purpose. Only deployed when a specific situation demands it, in this case when an accident occurs.

You can view the survival mechanism similarly like the aforementioned analogy. The mechanism is there waiting for an external or internal stimuli. If needed it will take control of your system to ensure your own survival.

The Survival Mechanism In Action

There are many real stories out there showing the survival mechanism in action. For this article, I chose a story which portrays the true potential of human beings.

For this we need to go back in time to 1972 when the Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 carrying 45 people from Uruguay to Chile crashed into the Andes mountain. The crash was just the beginning of series of events which took place in the following days. 18 people were killed because of the crash itself. The remaining 27 had to survive in the middle of the mountain without any relevant equipment and also without sufficient food.

Imagine this, you are left stranded in a snowy mountain where everything around you is covered in thick snow. To make matters worst you only have few chocolate bars and snacks to feed your fellow survivors. The weather too was not on your side with the snowstorms and strong winds making it difficult even for you to stand up straight. This kind of weather and geographical conditions made any rescue mission impossible. What would you do?

This was what the remaining group of people from the crash had to go through to continue their survival. Day after day, one by one passed away. The willpower of the remaining people were further tested when an avalanche killed another 8 of them. The food supply like mentioned earlier was very scarce. The remaining survivors had to make really hard decision to continue their survival. So what did they do?

They collectively agreed to feed on their dead comrades to continue living! Yes you heard it right, the survival mechanism in it’s full throttle. It was a tough decision to make but it can also be viewed as a blessing in disguise. That was not the end. They had to get out of the mountain and find civilization or the remaining 16 will be reduced even further.

This was the time when two individuals, Nando Parrado and Roberto Canessa took a decision to go on an extreme expedition to look for help in the snow covered mountain. They showed amazing leadership quality here. Without any hiking equipment they trekked for 10 days looking for a way out. They did this in a really freezing environment. The survival mechanism in them made their body to crave for survival! They hustled until finally they found a river. This was when both of them celebrated the true meaning of being alive. Even though they were in ultimate state of exhaustion their human spirit allowed them to push through and find help to ensure the survival of themselves and also their fellow friends who were waiting in the mountain.

Across the river is where they saw a gentleman, Sergio Catalan, who gave both of them some food and alerted the authorities about the other survivors. After a grueling 72 days, I repeat, 72 days!, finally they were rescued.

I believe this story shows what the survival mechanism in us can achieve in real extreme and tough situations. If you would like to read more specific details about this tragedy, you can read it in it’s dedicated Wikipedia page. You can also watch the movie Alive, to get a visual experience on this story. There are many lessons we can learn from this event and the portrayal of the true human spirit.

The Beginning

It is the beginning actually. The story above is just one example of hundreds and hundreds of similar events showing the survival mechanism in action. Let it be a trigger for you to be strong from within despite your circumstances. We are not surviving harsh weather conditions or life threatening situation in our daily life but the awareness about the presence of this mechanism will make a difference.

Deep in you, you will always know that you have the strength waiting to be tapped. It’s potential is limitless. We really don’t know what are our limits, I doubt if there is any. We defied gravity and now we are building cities in the space. So, really the limit is unlimited.

Hats off to those who made it and became our inspiration. Stories like this made me realize tough situations are required to make me stronger. You can apply this in your daily life. If you are faced with failure after failure in the journey towards your dream, know that there is a survival mechanism in you which if triggered will provide you the strength to face anything on your way to achieve your goal.

I would like to end this article with this powerful quote from Robertson Davies:

“Extraordinary people survive under the most terrible circumstances and they become more extraordinary because of it.”

Now go continue your survival.