Following Haiti's devastating earthquake on January 12, 2010, the news reports held our attention, day and night. The statistics and visual images were staggering, but the individual stories gripped our hearts. We heard stories of suffering, as well as fortitude and amazing resilience.

 
One such story was that of Saint-Helene Jean-Louis, a 29-year-old student who was trapped for four days in a collapsed building at the University of Port-au-Prince. During the first night after the earthquake, she had no contact with any human being. She lay in a silent space between slabs of concrete, surrounded by eight dead bodies. In those long hours of darkness, pain, and isolation, we can only imagine what went through her mind. More importantly, what kept the light of her spirit alive?

When the rescuers found this young woman, they could see only the top of her head and her left hand. Immobile and barely able to speak, she was dependent on others to give her a chance to live. A local rescue worker who spoke Creole was able to communicate with her, while others clawed and dug through layers of debris. After working for 30 hours, they pulled her out of the rubble, still alive.
 
Reporters witnessed the rescuers' remarkable achievement.  Saint-Helene Jean-Louis's efforts were less visible, but no less powerful. A member of the rescue squad commented, "You have Mother Nature in all her power and fury with this earthquake, yet this woman has just as much strength as the earthquake".
 
In the Employee Assistance (EAP) field, we often see that same spirit when people are coping with personal tragedies. For the individual living through a traumatic experience, the struggle for emotional survival is similar to that of the Haitian earthquake victims. In both cases, two important elements are required:  inner strength and help from others.
 
Inner strength is grit, resolve or power that comes from within. Is it part of the basic instinct to survive or the will to live? Is faith, hope, love, or meaning its source? The answers to these questions remain a mystery, but there is apparently a part of our humanity that refuses to give up, even under the most adverse circumstances.
 
Connection with other people is the second critical factor that makes it possible for us to endure extreme misfortune and suffering. Sensing the support or companionship of another human being seems to be essential to surmount great hardship. Even when we are alone, we seek a connection with others through our memories, dreams, prayers or imagination. 
 
Do you remember the film "Cast Away"? Executive Chuck Noland (Tom Hanks) was stranded on an uninhabited island for four years, the sole survivor of a terrible plane crash. After attending to his basic needs for water, food and shelter, his utter loneliness threatened to end his life. His response was to create an imaginary friend, "Wilson", personified in a volleyball that washed up on the shore with the wreckage of the plane. Wilson (or rather Noland's attachment to him) helped him to keep his sanity. 
 
Our core emotional needs for inner strength and meaningful connections with others are most evident when we must face an extreme life crisis. Examples of such situations include the unexpected death of a loved one, an act of violence at home or in the workplace, a painful divorce, the loss of one's livelihood or home, a life-threatening illness or a serious accident. At those times, we need to look inward for strength, but also be willing to look for the hand reaching out to help us.
 
Catastrophes come in many shapes and sizes, ranging in scale from personal tragedies to huge natural disasters. Most of these events cannot be prevented, but we can still try to prepare for them, by developing psychological hardiness and by strengthening our relationships with family, friends, and co-workers.

Dr. Wennerholm is a clinical psychologist and Executive Vice President of Lucy López-Roig EAP, Inc.

Award-winning social psychologist, Dr. Ellen Langer, poses some fascinating questions. What would happen if we could "turn back the clock" psychologically? Could we experience positive changes in our lives? By opening our minds to what is possible, can we enhance our mental and physical health at any age?
 
I gained new knowledge and insight about mindful health from this riveting, readable book. Based on her highly original experiments over thirty years, the author challenges us to question our assumptions about our physical and mental limitations. She illustrates how subtle changes in our thinking and the development of mindfulness can have powerful effects on our behavior and vitality.

Dr. Langer makes a convincing case about "the need to free ourselves from constricting mindsets" which place limits on our health and well-being. She shares many examples of how stereotypes, generalizations and unquestioned "truths" can become self-defeating. The author offers practical suggestions to help the reader learn to question these presumed limits and reap the benefits of what she calls "the psychology of possibility".
 
This book focuses primarily on applications for health and aging. However, I found it exciting to extrapolate these insights to the areas of leadership and career development. What might happen if we reengineered our ideas about our abilities and chances for success? There are many self-imposed limitations that keep us from success. For example:  "I'm too old to acquire a new skill", "This problem is so difficult it has no solution", "The state of the economy is so bad that it's impossible to succeed", "My co-workers will never be able to work as a team", among others.
 
By questioning such assumptions and mindfully thinking outside the box, we can truly open up a whole world of possibilities, in our personal lives as well as in the workplace.

Mary Jane Leone is an educator, who serves as consultant to Lucy López-Roig EAP, Inc.