[photo credit: ponderossa]
I suspect my headline might have you scratching your head thinking I have finally lost my last marble. I assure you that while that day may come, today it is still very much in my possession and rolling around gleefully like a hamster in one of those little balls who has been set free in an empty airport hanger.
[Btw the song in the hamster video rocks!]
OK enough hamster imagery. Lets get back to this parking ticket thing. While you will no doubt be irked, here is what it should remind you of: That ticket is the difference between living in a lawful and a less than lawful society (by less than lawful I mean it has laws, but they are not strictly enforced).
Enforcing parking regulations is considered small, unimportant stuff to most of us. There is this idea out there that we should not sweat the small stuff such as this; that it isn’t really significant in the bigger scheme of things.
But I say, “Oh contraire!” to that idea. That thinking is completely backwards. I understand this flies in the face of conventional wisdom, but I say, SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF because it is that stuff, when left unattended, that becomes the big huge nasty life complicating stuff.
Picture it like a garden. Let one weed in and underestimate it because it is simply a single weed, and before you know it, your garden will be overrun by a whole bunch of his inconsiderate and freeloading weed buddies.
What the law of weeds (OK, it’s not really a law) demonstrates beautifully is that when we fail to enforce the most basic of rules or laws it invariably leads to a series of escalations, each more bold than the next, leading to violations that might eventually become much more serious and potentially violent.
So, if you allow people to park wherever they please for as long as they want and do nothing to stop this, then you invite people to begin pushing the acceptable boundaries. Soon the sidewalk is acceptable, double parking becomes the norm and cars remain in spots for days, weeks, or even months.
My logic (yes it is logic) is based on something called…
The broken windows theory
I was actually exposed to “The broken windows theory” by Malcolm Gladwell back when he wrote his book, “The Tipping Point“. If you have not read it, I highly recommend it. His stuff (even his hair) is amazing, and has practical applications to all areas of our lives.
The theory Gladwell mentioned was actually based on an article titled “Broken Windows” by James Q. Wilson and George L. Kelling, which appeared in the March 1982 edition of The Atlantic Monthly. The title comes from the following example in their article:
Consider a building with a few broken windows. If the windows are not repaired, the tendency is for vandals to break a few more windows. Eventually, they may even break into the building, and if it’s unoccupied, perhaps become squatters or light fires inside.
So what is their point? When you neglect to attend to something, whether it be a broken window, graffiti, or litter for example, then it encourages further escalation, even by those who might not normally initiate such an act to be begin with.
Your takeaway…
What does this mean for you? The question you need to ponder is, what areas of your life have “broken windows” that have not been repaired? Have more been broken as a result?
For instance, broken windows can masquerade as unacceptable behaviour we have let slide. It could be the way your kids talk to you or don’t listen to you. It could be how a spouse doesn’t carry his or her share of the parenting or relationship responsibilities. Or it could be how poorly or rudely a boss or fellow coworker treats you.
How do you now go back and repair these situations and then protect them from being broken in the future?
My takeaway…
I got a parking ticket two days ago. While I am annoyed (mostly at myself for not being mindful of my parking situation) I don’t freak out and have a mantrum (male tantrum) when I get them now.
I now stick it my day planner and carry it with me and use it instead as my reminder to me, to be sure to enforce the laws of Dean. While they may seem insignificant or easy to ignore or more work than they are worth at times, I know I will have far fewer serious issues on my plate if I consistently, without fail, enforce them.
Sweat the small stuff…
I can’t help but wonder how this mindset might help teachers who can’t control their classrooms, parents who can’t control their kids, managers who can’t control their staff or people who let others run them over verbally, emotionally, or physically.
“Enforce the most basic of rules of your game and you will cut off the majority of the more serious issues many others are relentlessly bombarded with.”
Now that is definitely an idea worth quitting,
Dean
ps…What’s your take on the broken windows theory? Let me know.
*****
I use Friday’s as Word-of-mouth Day! Today, I gently (no tazers will be used on you I promise) encourage you to spread the word about Quitbit. You might:
- Forward the link to someone you think would be interested
- Link to a post on Twitter (and follow me @deandwyer)
- Put a link to the blog in your Facebook status update
