{"id":34089,"date":"2021-04-27T22:36:44","date_gmt":"2021-04-28T02:36:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=34089"},"modified":"2021-05-08T22:49:03","modified_gmt":"2021-05-09T02:49:03","slug":"types-of-habits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/types-of-habits\/","title":{"rendered":"The 2 Types of Habits That Can Change Your Life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What are the two types of special habits from Tiny Habits?<\/em> How can you turn a negative trigger into a positive one to become happier?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two special types of habits from Tiny Habits <\/em>are “Meanwhile Habits,” and “Pearl Habits.” A Meanwhile Habit is a habit you do while you’re waiting for something to happen and a Pearl Habit is something that starts as a small irritation and grows into something beautiful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep reading to learn more about these two types of habits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Special Types of Habits<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are a few types of habits that are built on special prompts. \u201cMeanwhile Habits\u201d are small habits that you can use to fill otherwise useless or dead time. \u201cPearl Habits\u201d are habits that take prompts that would otherwise trigger negative emotions or unhelpful behaviors and turn them into prompts for positive emotions and helpful behaviors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile Habits<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You can introduce \u201cMeanwhile Habits\u201d while waiting for something else to happen. For example, you could do a Meanwhile Habit when:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • Standing in line<\/li>
  • Waiting for the shower water to heat<\/li>
  • Waiting at a red light<\/li>
  • Vacuuming the house<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    In Meanwhile Habits, unlike other types of habits, the prompt is the beginning<\/em> of a particular situation rather than the end. The purpose of Meanwhile Habits is to fill otherwise empty fragments of time, so these habits will stay tiny rather than growing bigger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Pearl Habits<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Like pearls, Pearl Habits start with an irritation and grow into something beautiful. When creating a Pearl Habit, you convert a periodic annoyance in your environment into the prompt for a positive new habit<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here\u2019s one example of a Pearl Habit. Behavorialist BJ Fogg had an air conditioner in his bedroom with a noisy thermostat that clicked whenever the A\/C turned on and off. This woke him up, which was annoying. Instead of installing a new thermostat, he experimented with using the click as an Anchor reminding him to relax the muscles in his face and neck. Now he\u2019s happy when he hears the click because it\u2019s helping him to sleep rather than waking him up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Here\u2019s another, more impressive example. <\/em>Amy was going through an acrimonious divorce in which her husband regularly insulted and verbally assaulted her. She turned her husband\u2019s behavior into a prompt to do something nice for herself<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This changed how she reacted to the insults. She began to accept them with more equanimity, and even welcome them: His bad behavior became an opportunity to watch her favorite movie or book a massage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Over time, her ex-husband saw that his insults weren\u2019t affecting her anymore, and he gradually stopped behaving badly. The kids, who in the past had had to watch the abuse, also benefited. The relationship between Amy and her ex-husband improved so much that after a few years they worked together to throw their daughter\u2019s graduation party.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    What are the two types of special habits from Tiny Habits? How can you turn a negative trigger into a positive one to become happier? The two special types of habits from Tiny Habits are “Meanwhile Habits,” and “Pearl Habits.” A Meanwhile Habit is a habit you do while you’re waiting for something to happen and a Pearl Habit is something that starts as a small irritation and grows into something beautiful. Keep reading to learn more about these two types of habits.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":34110,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,43],"tags":[273],"class_list":["post-34089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-psychology","category-self-improvement","tag-tiny-habits","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"\nThe 2 Types of Habits That Can Change Your Life - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There are two special types of habits from the book Tiny Habits: Meanwhile Habits and Pearl Habits. 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