WW01: Why We Struggle to Drop Our Tools
This essay was first published in Wonder Work 01 on April 23, 2025. To get the full Wonder Work experience, including essays like this, an annotated sources list, the Mystery Link game, and reader responses, please sign-up here.
The Small Idea: Drop Your Tools
The Spark: Cautionary Tales with Tim Harford, “Embracing the Escape Fire with Adam Grant.”
“What if the tools you’re holding onto most tightly are the very things preventing your escape from danger or blocking transformational growth?”
In the summer of 1949, a team of elite firefighters parachuted into Montana’s Mann Gulch to contain what they expected to be a routine forest fire. These smokejumpers were young, fit men trained to battle wilderness blazes with specialized equipment they carried on their backs: heavy shovels, axes, saws, and packs.
These weren’t just tools. They were symbols of identity, expertise, and purpose. A smokejumper without tools was just a dude in the woods. With them, he was a hero.
But that day in Mann Gulch, something unexpected happened. The fire exploded, creating an out-of-control blaze that raced up the steep hillside toward the men at a speed no human could outrun — at least, no human carrying 40+ pounds of equipment.
Investigation party photo taken from the north slope of Mann Gulch, 1949.
The crew’s leader, Wagner Dodge, saw the impossible situation unfolding. In a moment of genius, he lit an escape fire, burning the patch of grass right in front of his team. This created a space where the coming fire would have nothing to burn.
Dodge shouted for his men to drop their tools and run towards the fire he started. There, they could lay face down in the ashes and let the fire burn over them until it ran out of fuel. It was a moment of staggering improvised genius, but the crew saw only madness. None of them joined Dodge in the escape fire. Instead, they ran for their lives.
“When his crew watched Dodge strike a match in the middle of a forest fire, they assumed he had lost his mind.”
Thirteen men died that day, many within mere feet of safety. The few who survived were those who, against every professional instinct, let go of the very things that defined them as firefighters.
Identity Anchors
Organizational psychologist Karl Weick studied the Mann Gulch disaster extensively. He discovered something profound: the smokejumpers didn’t die because they lacked training or courage. They died because they couldn’t drop their tools. Their shovels and axes were more than implements; they were anchors of identity. To abandon them felt like abandoning who they were.
It’s difficult to relate to daring tales of heroic smokejumpers from the comfort of my home office while I sip a gingerbread latte and worry if my dog’s anxiety merits a herbal supplement. But this story captured my attention for weeks. We all carry tools — physical, mental, and emotional — that once served us well but may now be weighing us down. Maybe it’s:
The professional identity you've cultivated for decades
The strategic approach that worked in the past
The belief system that once gave you certainty
The relationships that are not enriching but are predictable
The daily habits that instilled a sense of control
Like the smokejumpers, we’re often reluctant to drop our tools even when they’re slowing us down—sometimes fatally.
Recognizing Your Tools
The tools we're most resistant to dropping share some common qualities:
Identity Connection: They're intertwined with how we see ourselves
Proven Success History: They've worked for us before
Social Reinforcement: Others recognize and validate them
Mastery and/or Resource Investment: You've spend years and dollars perfecting them
When someone suggests that you drop your tools, it feels like insanity. The tools work. They’re good tools. The smokejumpers’ equipment was essential for fighting fires, just not for outrunning them. Similarly, your tools may have been perfectly suited for previous challenges but are mismatched to your current circumstances.
What if, like practicing any skill, we could practice the act of dropping our tools before our lives depend on it?
This isn’t about permanent abandonment of everything you value. It’s about developing the capacity to temporarily set aside your tried-and-true approaches when the situation demands something different.
Two Small Experiments to Try:
Identity Vacation: For one day, introduce yourself to strangers without mentioning your professional title or most defining role. Notice how this feels and what emerges in the space created.
Reverse Routines: Identify one daily routine you consider essential, and deliberately do the opposite for a week. A morning person? Try working late. An analytical planner? Try spontaneity.
The Paradox of Protection
The tragedy of Mann Gulch reveals a profound paradox: The tools we carry to protect ourselves can become the very things that prevent our survival. The men who survived this catastrophic event were those who could recognize this paradox and adapt accordingly.
Many of our personal and professional “tools” were originally developed as protection mechanisms: the overdelivery that keeps clients happy; the perpetual busynesses that prevents quiet self-reflection; the expertise that wards off irrelevance.
These tools may have served protective purposes in the past. But are they now preventing you from moving quickly enough through changing terrain?
“There’s a profound liberation in dropping the tools you’ve carried for years. Not because the tools were bad, but becaues we are most likely to discover new possibilities when we unburden ourselves. ”
The Wonder of Unburdening
There's a profound liberation in dropping tools you've carried for years. Not because the tools were bad, but because we are most likely to discover new possibilities when we unburden ourselves. Wagner Dodge, the crew leader who survived by dropping his tools and creating an escape fire, did something previously unimaginable in wildfire fighting. With his defenses down and his identity temporarily set aside, he found an innovative solution that had never been done before.
Wonder thrives in this unburdened space. When we’re not weighed down by our identities and certainties, we’re free to ask naive questions, to experiment playfully, to see with fresh eyes. We can consider small ideas without immediately judging their practical application or professional relevance.
The Question
What heavy tools might you be ready to set down — even just for a moment — to see what becomes possible in their absence? You can respond directly to this email if today's question sparked any thoughts you'd like to share.
Tim Harford's excellent podcast Cautionary Tales first aired the episode, "Embracing the Escape Fire with Adam Grant" on August 1, 2024. You can see an annotated list of sources and get Wonder Work in your inbox when you subscribe for free.
