The 52 year-old member of the US National Guard, pulled up on a freeway to help another vehicle in trouble. While his girlfriend called for help, he sprinted to the smoke-filled SUV.
The vehicle was locked and the windows would not work. Without stopping to wonder how, he gripped the top of the door frame with the tips of his fingers, braced his foot against the door and pulled, which eased the door open far enough to shatter the window glass.
The man inside the car suffered minor smoke inhalation and light cuts. Thirty seconds later he would have been gone.
Apparently, this so-called hysterical strength that we may somehow tap into during high-stress situations cannot be reproduced in a test setting. We're not talking about strong-man competitions, but ordinary people who call on unknown strength.
Does that little voice inside each of us encourage action and give belief? That's the plot device I used when writing my novels in the Moonstone series. Click on Still Rock Water and you'll be taken to Amazon where you can read an excerpt.
The theory behind this super-human strength is that we typically only use a small percentage of our muscles' capabilities. When adrenaline is pumped into our circulation, blood is shunted away from other parts of the body toward our muscles along with extra oxygen. Adrenaline plays a part in the conversion of our body's stored energy source, glycogen, to fuel in the form of glucose. The combination of increased oxygen and energy levels strengthens our muscles beyond normal levels.
So, we could all be superman or superwoman, given the need and the right mental attitude.
Have you ever done something remarkable?