Transform Irritating Situations Into Something Beautiful Using Pearl Habits

I am getting into a flow when my computer hangs.

Arggh!

I walk into the living room and find it cluttered with toys all over the floor. Meanwhile, my kid has moved to another room.

We experience irritating situations throughout the day which deteriorate our emotions and energy.

Here’s how I use Dr. BJ Fogg’s Tiny habits method to transform irritating situations...by adding a Pearl habit.

Dr. BJ Fogg - "I call these ‘Pearl habits,’ because they use prompts that start out as irritants, like a grain of sand in an oyster shell, and turn them into something beautiful.”

A pearl habit is a tiny habit in which the difficult situation or irritant is used as the anchor or prompt for the desired behavior.

Here is how you can set up and run a Pearl habit -

1. Think of a frequent irritant in your life.

2. Make a tiny habit recipe with the irritant as the prompt.

After (or When)________, I will _________

Fill in the blanks with what irritates you followed by the tiny behavior that you will do.

Pick a behavior that will make you feel good. Something that you feel is true.

My Pearl habit recipes were-

• When my computer hangs, I will stretch my arms and take a deep breath.

• When I see toys cluttered all over the floor, I will be grateful I have a playful child.

3. Instantly celebrate after you do the behavior. This locks in the positive emotions with the tiny behavior.

A big smile worked for me.

4. If you forget to do the tiny behavior, rehearse the routine 7-10 times with the celebration.