In the 1980s, New York City was in the grip of one of the worst crime epidemics in its history. With increased crime and violence in American inner-city neighborhoods, the New York City Police Department (NYPD) fought to reduce crime, not with brawn, but with brains. [1]
One of the NYPD’s strategies for fighting crime was broken windows policing. This involved targeting minor crimes, like vandalism, public drinking, and fare evasion, to create an environment of order and lawfulness, thereby preventing more violent crimes. [2]
A decade later, New York City saw a significant drop in its crime rate, due, in part, to fixing its broken windows, both figuratively and literally.
The moral, if you’re following along at home, is that we all have broken windows. These are behaviors that not only create an environment of disorder but can also morph into something far more than that when left unrepaired.
A cluttered desk can invite an afternoon fraught with mindless Web surfing. A pile of clothes left on the floor can bring about other unwelcomed habits—leaving dirty dishes in the sink, letting trash pile up, ignoring emails in an already cluttered inbox.
These are only minor examples, of course. There are other, more serious examples that come to mind when thinking about addiction. But the principle is the same. We all have broken windows. Be mindful and repair them before they get out of hand.
Footnotes
[1] I was introduced to broken windows theory in Malcolm Gladwell’s New York Times bestselling book, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference.
[2] Recent research has argued that many of the apparent successes of broken windows policing were the result of other factors. Nonetheless, I believe it’s a useful way to think about behavior change, in general.
[3] For more on decisive moments, read Words Into Works 5 | The Two-Minute Rule.
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