Indulge Your Anger, Lose a Finger... Maybe More

Dave Smith has been an Industrial Maintenance Electrician since 1975. He has taught maintenance, troubleshooting and safety courses to thousands of electricians in mines, mills, refineries, factories, plants, power stations and offshore platforms throughout North America and the Middle East. Dave is a hands-on guy and teache...


I recently spoke to a graduating high school class and tried to impress upon them the importance of making good decisions. I was met with disbelieving faces, however, when I pointed out that they would ultimately learn the most from their own mistakes and bad decisions (although the adults at the ceremony definitely understood me).

This is certainly true of industrial accidents. Any time you talk to someone who has been in one, they’ll tell you they learned a valuable lesson—one they’re not likely to forget—and have endeavoured ever since to make good decisions. It’s also evident they would like to have had a second chance; the greater the stupidity of the accident, the greater their regret.

If you ever meet Tony, he’ll willingly tell you how stupid he was. He lost his finger to anger.

We all know how powerful, overwhelming and all-consuming anger can be. Ancient tribes used to spend days preparing for war by slowly building themselves into a frenzy. Blocking off all mental avenues of logic and rational thinking, they bombarded their minds with thoughts and images of anger, slowly heating their mid-brains until they were overwhelmed with irrational, uncontrollable hate and anger.

The Vikings had a special name for warriors who went crazy in battle: berserkers. And, if you want to see modern-day examples of irrational anger in action, just turn to the 6 o’clock news... you’ll be rewarded soon enough.

You would recognize Tony immediately by the index finger on his left hand, which is nothing more than a little nub. He lost it just after having a nose-to-nose, gut-to-gut shouting match with his boss. He was in a great rage when he left his boss’ office, slamming the office door so hard that the frame shook. Tony went back to his milling machine and, five minutes later, lost his finger forever.

I met him 10 years after the accident, and he still shakes his head at his own stupidity. Glancing down at his missing finger, he said, “Guess I lost that argument, eh?”.

You always need to be cognizant and in control of your thoughts and your emotions. When you’re working on something energized, make sure you’re concentrating on the task at hand. When you feel your mind wandering, you must either get it back under control or get away from the energy.

If you’re angry, step away; go for a smoke, grab some coffee, go for tools or supplies, or whatever, just don’t go back to work until you’ve calmed down. (And if you can’t calm down, go for counselling before you hurt yourself or someone else.)

Our thoughts and emotions control our bodies, and they will work either for us or against us. When you’re upset, you are a danger to yourself and anyone around you. There’s a reason we’re told to “Count to 10”: this is a cognitive function, and by counting to 10 we redirect blood flow from our heated mid-brain to our cerebral cortex, which helps us calm down. Long, slow breathing with each count also helps.

When you come across coworkers that are angry and you cannot calm them down, then get away from them. Give them the time they need to calm down on their own.

When you’re a supervisor and one of your people is angry, it’s important that you keep them away from energy and machinery until they are back in control of their emotions. In truth, we should all be continuously monitoring ourselves and our teams for the sake of everyone’s health and well-being.

You’re gambling your health and your life—indeed, your very future—when you allow your thoughts and emotions to run amok when you’re working. Never give them the opportunity! Always be in control and, when you feel that control slipping, count to 10. You can bet Tony wishes he had.

Until next time, be ready, be careful and be safe.