Jonathan Dodd‘s latest column. Guest opinion articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the publication. Ed
Last Friday I took a day off. I admit it. I got up, opened the curtains, watched the snow coming down fairly thick and fast and covering everything, and got back into bed. It was lovely. During the day I was constantly aware of a delicious feeling. It took me a while to realise what was causing it. I was feeling the thrill of playing hookey.
I started thinking back to the last time I didn’t go into work when I should have been there, other than between jobs or on holiday. When I’d gone back several years I gave up. It might even be decades ago. No wonder I was experiencing such a thrill.
A fate that can be tempted
I couldn’t count the days I had taken off through illness either, because I never seem to get ill. I can say that because I don’t believe there’s a fate out there that can be tempted into punishing me for saying such a thing.
I do accept that I’m lucky to have a body that appears to be reasonably robust, but I’m also a great believer in the power of determination. When you work for yourself you don’t get paid if you don’t turn up, and that makes you more likely to turn up. Having said that, I would like to think that I would stay away if I was streaming with cold and had a raging temperature, for the sake of my co-workers, if nothing else. It’s off-putting, and you don’t get any work done anyway.
Tell them to go away
I believe I don’t get colds because I tell them to go away. It’s obviously not as simple as that. I do have to look after myself first, then I have to make sure that my early warning systems are working really well.
The trick is to notice the very first signs of some infection knocking at the door or sliding through an unlatched window, and hit it with the full force of your antibodies before it gets a foothold. It’s much easier to do that rather than wait until it’s dug in.
I also tell myself and anyone who cares to listen that I never get ill. Naturally they’re sceptical, and it becomes a matter of pride to make sure that it never happens. It’s all become a sort of second nature to me now, and I really can’t remember the last time I had any time off work because of illness.
Still short-sighted
This doesn’t work for everything. I have picked some hay fever in the last few years which irritates my sinuses in a very antisocial way, but that doesn’t really constitute an illness. And I’m still as short-sighted as I used to be, but no worse, thank goodness. I’m working on those.
So why did I not go to work last Friday? It was pure self-preservation dressed up in common sense. At best my journey would have been long and gruelling, and it could have become dangerous if the weather had worsened. I didn’t want to make things worse for myself or others. Besides, I already knew that most of the people in my office were staying at home, so there would have been little to do.
A little bit of risk
Instead, I caught up with some activities that had been cluttering up my to-do list for some months and watched the weather through the window.
I was amused to see all the local children running around and throwing snowballs within sight of the local school, which had shut on the understanding that nobody would set foot outside. I remembered trudging through thick snow to school as a child, and once being the only teacher in a school full of children until anyone else was able to arrive.
I guess at some time we decided as a nation to become careful and to try to eliminate risks. I would have thought that such an idea was doomed to failure and a huge risk in itself. A little bit of risk is usually good for us. It gets the blood racing and stirs us up, and we feel alive.
The fear of the unknown
I think we’re losing the ability to assess risk. It’s fun to go on a roller coaster, but infinitely stupid to throw yourself into water if you can’t tell how deep it is or what there might be just below the surface. But if you avoid doing either you start to increase the risk of all sorts of health issues because of inactivity.
I think we give way to precautionary advice too often nowadays. A warning to exercise caution is not the same as advice not to go out at all. We allow ourselves to be influenced by our own fear of the unknown. I heard of schools next door to each other, one closed and the other open. Apparently it’s the head teacher’s decision to make. Some were thinking about education, others about possible lawsuits. I would have thought that insurance would cover that sort of eventuality.
People are usually more sensible and resilient than you might think, if you expect it of them. But as a race we’re also prone to laziness and inactivity. I don’t think we ever progress without a certain amount of determination and effort.
If you have been, thank you for reading this.
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