The Guiding Algorithm: How Health and Safety Becomes a Way of Life
As a young man, at the age of 11, life put me in a situation where I became the care aide for my family after it fell apart—a story I'm sure many of you can relate to. This isn't an appeal for sympathy, but rather an explanation for my choices. I had to learn to defend myself and my brother living in a working-class area, especially being from a different part of the country; we stood out like a sore thumb with our accents, talk about the north-south divide in the UK.
At 17, I joined the Royal Navy, under the naive illusion that serving my country was the best way to help my family—but hey, at least I tried, eh? I then invested my time in martial efficacy, not for the romance of swanning about with medals and such, but for a deeper understanding of violence and how to manage it. Fitness was my next goal, then nutrition, and finally, the last battlefield: the mind, specifically behaviour. All this as a layman, mind you, as finances held me back from more institutional pursuits.
Now that I find myself in a position with some top-notch "edumacashun," over the last several years, I aim to coalesce my boots-on-the-ground (sometimes, boots in my face) experience from the military, industry, law enforcement, and care sectors to give something back in the form of health and safety.
With all this global chatter going on in our personal algo’s, only those with a clear purpose can steer through it all, will benefit. We'll just have to wait for the rest to catch up. So strap in and buckle up for a critical mindset, squirrel thinking jaunt, into holistic H&S. If you dare!!
Health and safety is often seen as a dry, rule-bound subject, far removed from the dynamic flow of everyday life. But what if we reframed it? What if health and safety weren't just a checklist, but a powerful, principle-based algorithm for navigating the world, ensuring growth, adaptability, and minimal suffering? This article will explore how ancient wisdom, modern science, and practical experience converge to define health and safety as a fundamental way of being—a "guiding algorithm of life."
The core idea woven throughout this understanding is adaptability through being submaximal of the constant of change. This means consistently operating just below your absolute maximum capacity, allowing for continuous growth and resilience without burnout or breakdown. This principle, scalable from an individual's personal development to the governance of entire organisations, holds the key to thriving in an ever-changing world.
The Individual Blueprint: Submaximal Effort and Hardwired Adaptability
Our personal experiences shape how we see the world. Whether through the structured lens of engineering, the disciplined physical arts or happenstance, we develop filters that influence our responses to risk and change. It's within this individual context that the principle of being "submaximal of chaos" truly begins to shine.
Consider the world of functional fitness and anaerobic threshold training. Here, the goal isn't to constantly push to your absolute limit, but to train intensely enough to stimulate growth while leaving a small reserve. This "sweet spot" allows the body to adapt and recover more efficiently, leading to sustainable improvements in strength and resilience. This is a direct, physiological example of operating submaximally.
This physical training is deeply intertwined with our mental and emotional processing. Research by Dr. James Cahill from UCLA highlights how adrenaline acts as a powerful memory fixer. When we experience something with strong emotional significance, enough to change our physiology – even in a controlled training scenario – adrenaline helps to solidify that memory (and yes, it can be induced through exercise). This means that practising a safe behaviour in a realistic, slightly stressful environment can literally "hardwire" that response into our brains. It becomes an "artificial memory engram," as Jungian psychology might describe it, an ingrained pattern that can be accessed quickly and efficiently when needed.
This concept resonates strongly with behaviourism and the training methods found in martial arts. A martial artist doesn't just learn moves; they develop tactile awareness through countless repetitions. This practice, often performed submaximally, builds muscle memory and an intuitive understanding of movement and space. When faced with a real-time challenge, their body adapts almost instantly, acting without conscious thought. This cultivated, intuitive adaptability mirrors the principles of the UK's Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, which, as we'll see, emphasises proactive risk management and flexible responses over rigid rules.
From Individual Mastery to Systemic Governance
The principles that guide individual adaptability are perfectly scalable to larger groups, organisations, and even society itself. Effective leadership, whether in ancient battlefields or modern boardrooms, hinges on a deep understanding of human nature and the ability to foster adaptable systems.
Niccolò Machiavelli's The Prince, though controversial, offers a starkly pragmatic view of leadership. His insights into how people are motivated, especially by the potential of losing everything, underscore the importance of understanding human psychology in governance. While he suggests that fear can be a powerful motivator, our discussions also highlighted that sustained fear is not a convenient or effective way to inspire people long-term. Instead, it leads to resentment and stifles creativity. A truly robust system acknowledges human drives but seeks more sustainable forms of engagement.
This aligns with Miyamoto Musashi's wisdom in The Book of Five Rings, where he compares a general to a good carpenter. Just as a carpenter knows the strengths and weaknesses of his wood, a general must deeply understand his men – their capabilities, their morale, and how best to deploy them. This isn't about rigid control, but about leveraging individual strengths within a flexible, overarching strategy. It's an adaptable, principle-based approach to leadership.
When these individual and leadership principles are applied broadly, they create a robust organisational and societal structure. This can be visualised as a toroidal effect – a continuous, flowing system where information and feedback circulate freely, fostering constant adaptation and improvement. Such a system is not static; it's dynamic and self-correcting.
This model is clearly reflected in modern health and safety legislation. The ILO's mandate to remove human suffering provides the ethical compass, emphasising the accountability of those in leadership. This translates into laws like the UK Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, which is famously principle-based. It doesn't dictate every single action but requires employers to do what is "reasonably practicable" to ensure safety. This legal framework demands continuous risk assessment, review, and adaptive foresight—the skill of anticipating change and preparing flexible responses, rather than simply reacting to crises.
Health and Safety: The Guiding Algorithm of Life
In essence, health and safety, when understood through this holistic lens, transform into a universal guiding algorithm. It’s a philosophy that teaches us to embrace constant change by continually adapting just below the point of exhaustion. It's about developing internal resilience and external flexibility.
This guiding algorithm allows for minimal effort for the maximum effect whilst not bringing risk to the organism. It’s the wisdom to read the subtle signs of impending change ("the shark fin making a ripple"), to understand where pressure points exist, and to choose wisely whether to absorb, redirect, or dig in. It is the realisation that rigid policies fail, while principle-based adaptation allows for evolution. Like a river managed by adapting to its flow, not controlling it, life and all its systems flourish when they learn to navigate the constant currents of change.
Sources
Machiavelli, Niccolò. The Prince. c. 1513.
Musashi, Miyamoto. The Book of Five Rings. c. 1645.
Cahill, James. Research on the neurobiology of memory consolidation at the University of California, Irvine.
Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.
International Labour Organisation (ILO). Constitution and Mandates.
NEBOSH. National Examination Board in Occupational Safety and Health.
Jung, Carl. Works on Analytical Psychology.
Kahneman, Daniel, and Tversky, Amos. Research on Prospect Theory and Loss Aversion.
