The Broken Window Theory
While reading through a buddies notes on criminology and justice I encountered an interesting theory...
"The broken windows theory is a criminological theory of the norm-setting and signaling effect of urban disorder and vandalism on additional crime and anti-social behavior. The theory states that maintaining and monitoring urban environments to prevent small crimes such as vandalism, public drinking, and toll-jumping helps to create an atmosphere of order and lawfulness, thereby preventing more serious crimes from happening."
In short, as soon as any wrongdoing, crime or disorder are detected the situation is swiftly handled... preventing things from getting out of control.
You're probably wondering how this is relevant to you and me when it comes to reaching our goals? It's more relevant than you might first think...
Fix Your Proverbial Broken Window!
Humans are well and truly known to overestimate their willpower.
We think we'll be able to resist the junk food sitting in the pantry, we think we'll have the energy tomorrow morning to smash a workout even though we've cancelled it the last 4 days in a row...
These are the broken windows in our life that lead to far worse downward spirals...
In Business, Fitness & Dieting Don't Fall Victim To The Proverbial Broken Window...
- Skipping the first workout of your week normally leads to skipping multiple workouts
- Cheat meals often turn into cheat days - destroying any hope of staying within your caloric goal for the day
- Swapping out 'difficult' habits like reading for watching TV and being unproductive
