What would keep you going?

I’ve just watched another episode of I Survived on TV, and as always it was compelling viewing. If you haven’t ever watched it, it’s a series based on the personal survival stories of individuals who, for whatever reason, found themselves in life-or-death situations. Each and every one of them could have resulted in their death, but each of the subjects of the stories ultimately survived. And each episode is based on three of the stories, and the ‘action’ goes from one story to the next, and the next, and back to the first, and so on. Like I said, it’s thoroughly compelling viewing, partly because the stories are related by the people themselves, and partly because the programme itself is so well made.

How come they’re in a survival situation?

Each story is unique. Each is different from any other, although some share similarities. And each is fascinating to watch and hear, because, as a viewer, you just can’t help imagining the terrible situations these people found themselves in, and wondering just how you yourself would have dealt with them.

I suppose, if you had to categorise the stories, you’d probably put them into three main groups: people who became victims of crime, people who suffered accidents, and people who fell foul of nature at its most cruel. And believe me, the stories truly are life-and-death survival stories. In many cases it’s hard to believe the people actually came through it alive and are able to relate their experiences.

“And you survived because … ?”

Each story ends with the person saying why they believed they survived. Obviously there’s an interviewer off-camera asking questions throughout, and this is the point where the interviewer asks “And why do you think you survived this awful situation?” And sometimes this is almost as fascinating as the rest of the episode, even though the stories themselves make for riveting viewing.

Sometimes they say their fitness, or their attitude ensured their survival. Sometimes they say they survived because they couldn’t face the thought that their kids would have to grow up without a mother or father if they didn’t make it back alive. Sometimes it’s because they loved their partner so much they couldn’t bear the thought of leaving them. Sometimes it’s because they felt that it just wasn’t their time to die. And sometimes it was their faith in God that kept them going.

Which brings me to the question … if you were in a survival situation, one where your very life hung precariously in the balance, what would keep you going? It’s a fascinating question, and one we’ve all asked ourselves from time to time. But now I’m asking you! What would keep you alive? What would keep you going?

Preparation

I know it sounds corny, but being prepared could play a huge part in your survival, by my reckoning. But how can you be prepared to deal with something so random, so unexpected, so violent … It’s the question you naturally ask yourself. How can you possibly be prepared to deal with a sudden, violent, unexpected attack … or a natural disaster, like a hurricane or a flood, or an avalanche … or an accident that happens in a split second, and leaves your life hanging by a thread?

Obviously there’s no easy answer. But, watching I Survived, it’s hard not to feel that some of the victims of these dire situations have left themselves open to danger by not being prepared. I mean, if a person is driving across country in particularly horrendous weather and deviates from the main roads, it’s difficult not to think … er, how come you didn’t at least stay on the main route … how come you didn’t have a bit of food and drink in the car … how come you were in shirt sleeves, for Christ’s sake … how come you didn’t tell anyone where you were going, or when you expected to get there?

I know, it sounds like the comments of a know-it-all, but seriously, if the weather was really that bad would you even venture out in it if you didn’t really have to? And wouldn’t you at least dress appropriately? And take a few precautions, such as maybe taking along a few provisions? And yes, I know, it’s easy to be wise after the event, of course, but such simple precautions can sometimes literally mean the difference between life and death if and when things go badly wrong, so I don’t think it’s unfair to make the point.

Many situations, such as being attacked, can be so brutally sudden and violent that it’s totally understandable that a person is unprepared. I get that, really I do. And sometimes, with accidents, there’s no possible way to prepare yourself for what might happen. I totally accept that too. I’m not having a go at any of these people because bad things happened to them, really I’m not. I’m just saying that, in some cases, it might have been possible to tilt the balance in your favour by taking a few simple precautions.

In many of these situations, being physically fit could make all the difference. Now I’m not suggesting that everyone should train regularly and keep in top physical shape just to be prepared for the worst. For a start, even if you did, if the worst happened while you were asleep in bed, or when you’ve had a few drinks, or if you were in some similar situation where your guard was down, it probably wouldn’t make all that much difference if you had the training of a Navy SEAL, or a member of the SAS.

Even so, having a regular (daily?) routine of a few basic fitness exercises could, in many cases, mean that you’re able to survive where another, less fit person, might succumb. Although, of course, not everybody’s able to exercise and keep in shape; age might preclude it, or injury, for example. But for most people, it’s possible to tilt the balance in your favour with a little regular exercise.

Attitude

Another huge factor (maybe the most important of all) is the person’s attitude. If you think That’s it, I’m finished … I’ll never get out of this alive, then you’re setting yourself up for the worst outcome. If, on the other hand, you’re thinking I’ll get through this … somehow … not sure how just yet, but …, then there’s still hope. The hope might be slim, and you might even be fully aware that your situation is very, very desperate, but giving in to despair is definitely not the way to go.

And this matter of attitude can be shaped by your day-to-day dealings with life in general. You don’t have to be facing death on a regular basis, or facing armed assailants almost as often as the hero of an action movie to have a strong and determined attitude. People often live relentlessly hard lives, and go through trying ordeals with a terrible regularity, and the thing that keeps them going is very often that they have built up an unusual strength of attitude. They simply will not be beaten!

So we have two huge factors … some sort of preparation for the worst that life can throw at you, and the determination to deal with it, no matter what. With these two factors in place, the third thing is the motivation or incentive to stay alive, against all odds.

What keeps you going?

Even with some sort of ongoing preparation, and even with determination and a strong mental attitude, you can still find yourself in a situation where you’re struggling and barely able to lift a finger to help yourself. It’s at moments like this (and we see many of them on I Survived), that your level of desire and commitment comes into play. The deciding factor, in many cases, is really whether or not you really want to live.

I mean, obviously, anyone in any of these situations wants to live, that goes without saying, but if you put yourself (in your imagination) in those situations, what would make you want to keep going, against all odds? Remember, in many of these situations, these people have suffered extreme cold, or isolation, or mistreatment, or injury and torture, for days on end. I’m not talking about a situation that might last half an hour.

In a situation like that, where you’re virtually dead already (and maybe where you’ve actually been left for dead), or where you’re lost in the wilderness with no supplies, no food or water, nothing … or where you’ve been the victim of a horrible, near fatal accident and you’re alone and nowhere near any source of help … in a situation like that … what would keep you going?

It’s different for everybody

Obviously, the answer would be different for everyone. For some, like I said earlier, it would be the thought that their kids still need them. For others, it would be the thought of another loved one, maybe their partner. Some are kept going by the thought that their co-workers need them, or their customers. Some believe that God still has a plan for them, and that plan does not include them dying, not just now, not just yet.

So it comes back to this question again and again: what would keep you going? It’s a question worth asking yourself, and listening for the answer. Maybe this could be one of the most important factors in any survival situation – whether you’ve ever really specified and defined what it is in your life that’s so important to you that you simply would not be prepared to die because you’d miss it. And maybe that’s the lesson to be learned from watching a programmes like I Survived.

It’s a fascinating series, and every episode is fraught with nail-biting tension as we watch and listen to these people who have looked death squarely in the face. And maybe we can learn something valuable from it too. That there is something in our lives, even though we might have to think long and hard to define it, but maybe there is something that would keep us going, no matter what, and let us come out the other side as a survivor.

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