So was this a good day or a bad day?

At the time, obviously a very, very bad day. But the moment it was over, not even the next day, but the very moment it was over – that evening – I realised very quickly that it was actually a good day and I’d like to explain why.

It has something to do with something called Antifragility which I read about in Nassim Nicholas Taleb’s book a little while ago (and have been a fan of ever since).

My Nightmare Day

So a plumber let me down at the very last minute (man flu) and I decided, despite not feeling too good myself and not having all my tools with me, to do the job myself – because it should be easy (replacing 2 radiators with bigger, newer ones).

The Job

Suffice to say the job was tricky. Difficulties I had anticipated but were worse than expected, delays getting missing parts (screws, fixings, compression joints) and the new radiators being not only wider but deeper than the old ones made the pipework a little awkward (I used compression fittings as I don’t have a pipe bender & didn’t bring a blow torch & smaller end-feed fittings which would have been better).

I drained down the system and opened the air bleed valves on both upstairs radiators (the ones being changed) to help push the water through the system (& out of the drain off valve downstairs).

I fitted the first of the two radiators in the back upstairs room and because of the offsets and number of joints involved, wanted to be sure to check this well for leaks before fitting the second radiator in the front upstairs room. I re-filled the system, running up and down between the newly fitted radiator and the boiler, checking the radiator for leaks & taking plenty of time doing this, feeling it get nice and hot, bleeding the air out of it etc.

Having checked this thoroughly, I was happy with my work and there were no leaks at all despite the joints being quite tricky (due to needing to use very small bits of pipe between the compression joints on a job I would rather do with smaller end-feed fittings and/or a pipe bender).

Last Minute Plumbing Emergency – Burst Pipe?

Having checked that radiator I now went around the radiators in the house to balance the system (bleed any air out of the other radiators). When I got to the front room downstairs, I opened the door and water fell on my head from the top of the door. Without thinking I also switched on the light and a bulb immediately blew and tripped the circuit!! Water was running down the walls and dripping out of the light fitting.

My immediate thought was that I had a burst pipe somewhere under the floorboards. I got a really awful sinking feeling in my stomach and was angry with myself for taking on the job late without the right tools & materials and when feeling tired and not too well myself. I panicked a little and started pulling up carpet to see what access I could get to the floorboards. What a nightmare – very difficult in 2 bedrooms full of furniture, heavy beds, desks, wardrobes and drawers may need to be moved or dismantled. Water damage was ongoing but I’d need to leave water in the system to see where the leak was – even if I see it could I get to it to repair it? It was 4pm and the tenants should be returning home from work at 5.30pm.

I rang my poorly plumber & told him I had an emergency, I think I’ve burst a pipe, I really need his help. He told me that he really couldn’t, still felt awful & maybe I could try a friend of his. I did, no reply. I haven’t got time for this I thought to myself, really feeling terrible now and I just have to get on with it as quickly as possible. At least try and find the leak.

False Alarm – The Stupid Mistake

Then I spotted the really wet patch at the left side of the radiator in the front room and suddenly realised what I’d done. When I refilled the system, I was so focused on checking the radiator in the back room that I’d forgotten to close the air bleed valve on the radiator in the front room. The water had been p1$$ing out of that bleed valve against the wall and running down the wall, and tracking along the floorboards, ceiling and wiring to the light fitting in the front downstairs room all the while I was running up and down and checking the other radiator.

So no leak, just a stupid mistake.

The Damage & Lesson Learned

I rang the plumber back to have a laugh about it (though I still felt sick) & he didn’t answer, so I texted him just to say it was a false alarm. He rang me back to say he wasn’t avoiding my call & not to worry about it – it happens at one time or another to most plumbers (does it?) & he’d be lying if he told me he hadn’t done the same thing more than once before.

The damage: a blown light bulb, water marks on the walls and ceiling and brown marks on the duvet, bedsheets & mattress protector from the dripping light fitting (though actually fairly clean as far as radiator water goes, it was still brownish enough to make visible marks on my tenants bed linen). So the next panic (tiny compared to my initial panic) was to clean and dry the bed linen & duvet as I couldn’t leave them like that. The light fitting would also be dripping for some time so I took all the bulbs out, dried it well, left it overnight and slowly replaced all 3 light bulbs with newer, better bulbs. Luckily I learned that tenant was away for the weekend, and also having just bought a new washer/dryer for the tenants I was able to use this to wash and dry the sheets & duvet.

So, simple job though it should have been, I still have the second (front room) radiator to fit, though I won’t be doing it tired & with a headache, or at the last minute, or without the right tools and materials. I doubt also that I will forget to check all of the air bleed valves are closed before refilling the system.

So What is Antifragility?

I like it in Talebs book when he describes various things in our everyday lives – particularly in nature – which gain from disorder, in other words which are antifragile.

To build muscles we make lots of tiny tears in our muscles and then through the process of repairing themselves, the muscles grow and come back stronger. When we are ill and we take medicine, we are often consuming something (e.g. antibiotics) which consists of subjecting our bodies to harmful bacteria in order to provoke a reaction from our bodies natural defence mechanisms. Both are examples of how we use and benefit from antifragility in our everyday lives. The same can be said of certain political, sociological and economic situations which Taleb describes in his book.

I could go on further about this concept and will do below in terms of my own appreciation of the concept, how it relates to my nightmarish day with the plumbing emergency but more importantly how we can all benefit from an understanding of this concept.

First of all, here is the great man himself explaining in under 5 minutes the concept and how he discovered and defined it:

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A Fan of Antifragility?

I realised of course the moment I wrote this (that I’m a fan of antifragility) that it doesn’t make much sense.

Antifragility as Taleb defines it is all around us. It’s there anyway. So, it is a strange thing to say I’m a fan of. What I am really saying I am a fan of is knowing about it as an important concept, understanding it and therefore being able to live a better life because of it.

In this example, I could have let the bad day hurt me even more by denting my confidence or perhaps dwelling on the bad feelings I had during the day. However, feelings aside, did my plumbing skills as they were at the start of that day diminish? No. Am I less likely or more likely to do the same thing again? Less. Was any lasting damage done to me or the property? No, none. In fact the house is better – my tenants sheets are cleaner, he has 3 new & better quality light bulbs, the walls and ceiling will get a fresh new coat of paint and obviously the radiators are improved which was the upgrade job in the first place. For my part, it all counts toward more experience and lessons learned. So I conclude this is an antifragile situation and in the end I am better off – not worse off – because of it.

Other Similar Concepts I am a ‘Fan’ of

So I love antifragility. I find it fascinating.

Similar concepts I find fascinating are confirmation bias, the growth mindset and iatrogenics (which is very closely related to Antifragility and is mentioned in Talebs book and also another great book I read recently – Black Box Thinking by Matthew Syed). Syed’s book is along similar lines & from a similar school of thought explaining how mistakes and failure if approached in the right way actually make our lives better, not worse.

Final Thought – What Doesn’t Kill You…

Small damages can be very useful.

Remember this.

When you are feeling sorry for yourself after an awful day like the one I had with my plumbing emergency, take stock and ask yourself what the real cost was. If it was something you are actually able to get past, chances are it is something that actually made you stronger if you choose to look at it that way. Here is a cheesy song about it.

Adopt a growth mindset. Don’t say to yourself ‘I’m just no good at this’ (which would be an example of having a fixed mindset), instead, look rationally at where you are and the fact that you can learn from failure and mistakes (what Syed calls Black Box Thinking).

Recognise that often small damages – which can either automatically provoke a healing reaction (e.g. in nature) or can necessitate some repairs (e.g. in my example above) – can be very useful.

Whenever you can, don’t be fragile. Be antifragile (because sometimes it’s not automatic and is therefore a choice).

* – Note: I’ve read and would highly recommend both books mentioned in this article. If you want to know more about these and other books I’ve read and would recommend, I have a list of them here: Books: 32 Recommended Books for Better Results In Your Life & Your Business