Habits 2 Goals: The Habit Factor® Podcast with Martin Grunburg

“The only discipline that lasts is self-discipline.” ~Bum Phillips

This Habits 2 Goals episode is FREE for ALL subscribers.

It’s baaaaaack…

The 36-hour, (once a week), fast

***WARNING** Please do your own research and consult your doctor before altering your diet.***

What is it? Why do it? And, the backstory.

In 2019, (at 51), I came to the sudden awareness that I’d never gone a day without eating.

I wondered if I could fast for an entire day.

The only way to find out… challenge myself.

My plan was to cease eating around 8 p.m. on Sunday. Then, see if I could make it through Monday without food.

If I could then make it to Tuesday at 8 a.m., I’d have gone 36 hours.

The first fast was brutal!

Afterward, I recall saying, “Maybe I’ll try that again next year.”

Then a day went by and I said, “Maybe I’ll do that again next month.”

Then another few days went by and I said, “I’m going to do that again next Monday!”

The next thing I knew, it was 30 weeks later…

30 consecutive weeks of fasting – 36 hours, once per week.

I share the experience on a couple of previous podcast episodes.

—» LINK & LINK

Why fast in the first place?

Reason #1: Self control

I wanted to find out WHO was in control.

Was it my impulses and eating habits or was it my mindfulness and willpower?

I love Pythagoras’ observation:

“No man is free who cannot command himself.”

Could I command myself for those 36 hours?

Freedom and family are top values.

Am I really free if I cannot command myself?

Am I in control?

Let’s find out…

Reason #2: Experiment!

As important as habits, rituals and routines are that support our goals and ideals, it’s equally important to experiment.

See Dynamism (episode).

“All life is an experiment, the more experiments you make the better.” ~R.W. Emerson

By experimenting, I learned firsthand an entirely different level of self-discipline and interestingly, gained a new level of freedom.

“Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood."~R.W. Emerson

In Siddharta by Hermann Hess, Siddhartha’s mantra is…

I can think. I can wait. I can fast.

These were things within Siddhartha’s control.

Few things in life are in within our control.

What we eat and when we eat ought to be.

Yet, for most, they are not.

Ironically, most people think they are in control of what and when they eat yet, they have never tested that belief.

Fasting is a great way to test that assumption.

It stands to reason that if one cannot control what they eat, when they it, they really do not control very much.

Reason #3: Health and wellness.

Here are just a few of the reported health and wellness benefits of fasting:

* Fights inflammation

* Aids blood sugar control; reduces insulin resistance

* Aids weight loss and reduced fat

* increases growth hormone

* Aids heart health

* Suspected of aiding cancer prevention

* Aids longevity

* Improves clarity

* Enhances mindfulness

* Enhances spirituality. They don’t call it a “Monk Fast” for nothing. For the record, I’d never heard that term until 2023!

How I perform the fast…

First, the disclaimer once again: I AM NOT A DOCTOR. PLEASE VISIT YOUR DOCTOR AND DISCUSS ANY CHANGES TO YOUR DIET FIRST.

For better or worse, I dove head-first into this experiment with almost no research.

I had no idea there are terms like “dirty” fasting.

To get through the day, I will probably have about 5-6 cups of hot tea and drink a lot of water, sometimes carbonated.

I also have coffee in the morning.

That coffee has a touch of coconut oil and sometimes I’ll add a touch of butter.

Apparently, this is known as “Fat-Fasting”. I didn’t know that.

Purists are likely to say that those are calories and it’s a “dirty fast.”

For me, this experiment is about health and I’m confident that those fats are healthy.

Further, the reduction in calories from a typical day of 2,000+ to approximately 50 is fasting.

Less than 100 calories (far less), during a thirty-six hours period is substantial.

I will also take my usual dose of psyllium husk (approx a tablespoon) with some salmon oils, around noon.

So there you have it, the quick and “dirty” What? Why? and How?

The challenge was to complete every Monday (all five) in October; that happens today.

At 55, I expect that I will continue to test, experiment and explore.

The good news; it’s week five and it appears that I’m in control.

I can think. I can wait. I can fast.

Enjoy the show!

~mg

***Get the inspiring, free and world’s first, HABITS to GOALS tracking template here: → https://thehabitfactor.com/templates

If you’d like to understand human behavior at an even deeper level, learn more about the “Three Circles of Behavior Echo-System” which is featured in the book, “EVERYTHING!”

I teach and coach organizations and individuals worldwide how to best utilize and leverage “The Three Circles of Behavior Echo-System” and the P.A.R.R. [Plan, Act, Record & Reassess] methodology to craft game-changing habits on-demand.

Check out our latest cohort offering, the waitlist is now open: The 28-Day Breakthrough!

MORE: “The Three Circles of Behavior Echo-System” / The Grunburg Behavior Model is a holistic, fluid, and dynamic behavior-change model. It’s the first behavior-change model to demonstrate how our thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and even our environment vibrate (echo and reverberate) to influence each other. Hence, the “Echo-System.”

Optimize your behaviors – cultivate habits and skills – at will and on demand. Background info here.

*Recently Awarded: “Finalist: Self-help, Motivation”International Book Awards: EVERYTHING is a F*cking STORY.

Visit https://thehabitfactor.com/templates

To learn more about P.A.R.R., just Google “P.A.R.R. and The Habit Factor.”

Get The Habit Factor® FREE with your audible trial! https://audibletrial.com/habits2goals

Feedspot’s “Top 10 Habit Podcasts You Must Follow in 2021”

New listeners, grab your free habits 2 goals tracking template here: https://thehabitfactor.com/templates

FREE copy of As a Man Thinketh (PDF) right here: As a Man Thinketh

Subscribe iTunes here! Subscribe: Android

“No man is free who cannot command himself.” ~Pythagoras

This Habits 2 Goals episode is FREE for ALL subscribers.

To act according to your intentions…

Arguably, it’s the crux of the entire personal development industry.

How often have you said, “I’m going to…”

Only to find, a week, month, or year later, “it” never transpired.

Why?

There are three main reasons.

Reason One: PAIN.

Chances are that the task at hand involved some pain; emotional, physical, mental, etc.

Humans are wired to avoid pain and seek pleasure.

PAIN versus PLEASURE: It’s a perpetual war that is being waged internally.

Humans will go to great lengths to avoid pain, naturally.

The challenge is that growth and personal development, lie on the other side of challenge and pain.

Learning is painful, yet we become smarter as a result of the effort.

Lifting weights is painful, yet the effort makes us stronger.

How do we reconcile this?

Well, the answer is fairly simple.

In fact, the answer has been known for millennia and apparently, science has affirmed it recently.

“If you wish to be a good writer, write. If you wish to be a great speaker, speak. If you wish to be a skilled musician, play. If you wish to be a good person, be good. There is no other way.” ~ Epectitus

Do you see the pattern?

Desire. Action.

Desire. Action.

Desire. Action!

Nike learned a thing or two from Epectitus, “Just do it!”

A subscriber to our show and good friend, Laura, has now SAID and DONE a number of important goals over the last few years. She shared the below Instagram post from Huberman Lab.

The neuroscience research on willpower makes clear that your Anterior Mid-Cingulate Cortex (aMCC) is a key hub for leaning into undesired effort.

Your aMCC it is activated by engaging in behaviors that you don't want to do. Or by resisting strong impulses. (MG: that should be an, “AND”)

Your aMCC/willpower can grow throughout the lifespan by regularly doing undesired things, that are hard. ~A. Huberman (instagram)

Here’s the short STORY:

Do things you don’t like to do, when you say you're going to do them, whether you feel like it or not.

Repeat.

BTW: That 👆 is one of my favorite definitions for DISCIPLINE.

Why did Laura share that post with me?

Well, we’ve been preaching and teaching this important concept since the show’s inception, 6+ years.

It’s just one of the achievement riddles addressed inside The Habit Factor®.

Reason Two: MEANING.

The key to doing what you say you’re going to do when you say you’re going to do it is simply this; develop a powerful reason – a STORY about WHY it’s so important.

By crafting a powerful STORY – a WHY – even prolonged pain is tolerable.

“When a man cannot find a deep sense of meaning, they distract themselves with pleasure.” ~Viktor Frankl

Find a deep sense of meaning relative to the goal, behaviors, and/or habits you’re trying to cultivate.

In my latest book “EVERYTHING,” we learn how it’s the stories at the heart of our “Behavior Echo-System” that drive our emotions/feelings and impact our behaviors/habits/skills – even our environment.

Increase meaning; diminish pain.

Repeat.

MEANING > PAIN

Identify and/or craft a story (see behavior model below), that is going to drive you through the pain.

Example:

I can endure the pain of getting into shape because I want to be at my daughter’s wedding.

Example:

I can endure the pain of learning because I want to earn more money.

Final thoughts… and reason three.

You are not tracking!

TRACKING AFFIRMS YOUR DESIRE.

By habit tracking, you’ll quickly determine if you are sincere in your desire to command yourself or, if you’re just b**********g yourself.

Tracking is where the rubber meets the road.

Around these parts, we have a saying:

GOOD HABITS HAPPEN WHEN PLANNED; BAD HABITS HAPPEN ON THEIR OWN.

Most people think discipline is an inborn, innate trait that only a few fortunate people possess.

Nonsense.

DISCIPLINE IS A HABIT.

Discipline is cultivated from repeated exposure at the intersection of DESIRE (volition) and ACTION (willpower) and executing according to one’s desire.

Easy Habits = Hard Life.

Hard Habits = Easy Life.

The habits that are painless and easy, well, those tend to form all by themselves, don’t they?

Those are the effort-free, bad habits that don’t serve our goals.

Drinking too much alcohol, staying in bed too long, and watching too much TV or spending too much time on social media.

Nobody needs to track those habits. They form all by themselves.

HOW TO HABIT TRACK THE RIGHT WAY.

P.A.R.R.:

PLAN. ACT. RECORD & REASSESS.

That’s The Habit Factor® method for habit tracking and it’s designed to promote Habitstrength™.

And, it’s backed by 13+ years of experience teaching, and coaching.

Final thoughts…

The more you expose yourself to the intersection of DESIRE and ACTION (and act according to your desire) the faster you will cultivate the habit of DISCIPLINE.

The faster you cultivate discipline. the faster you will move in the direction of your goals and ideals.

Enjoy the show!

~mg

***Get the inspiring, free and world’s first, HABITS to GOALS tracking template here: → https://thehabitfactor.com/templates

If you’d like to understand human behavior at an even deeper level, learn more about the “Three Circles of Behavior Echo-System” which is featured in the book, “EVERYTHING!”

I teach and coach organizations and individuals worldwide how to best utilize and leverage “The Three Circles of Behavior Echo-System” and the P.A.R.R. [Plan, Act, Record & Reassess] methodology to craft game-changing habits on-demand.

Check out our latest cohort offering, the waitlist is now open: The 28-Day Breakthrough!

MORE: “The Three Circles of Behavior Echo-System” / The Grunburg Behavior Model is a holistic, fluid, and dynamic behavior-change model. It’s the first behavior-change model to demonstrate how our thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and even our environment vibrate (echo and reverberate) to influence each other. Hence, the “Echo-System.”

Optimize your behaviors – cultivate habits and skills – at will and on demand. Background info here.

*Recently Awarded: “Finalist: Self-help, Motivation”International Book Awards: EVERYTHING is a F*cking STORY.

Visit https://thehabitfactor.com/templates

To learn more about P.A.R.R., just Google “P.A.R.R. and The Habit Factor.”

Get The Habit Factor® FREE with your audible trial! https://audibletrial.com/habits2goals

Feedspot’s “Top 10 Habit Podcasts You Must Follow in 2021”

New listeners, grab your free habits 2 goals tracking template here: https://thehabitfactor.com/templates

FREE copy of As a Man Thinketh (PDF) right here: As a Man Thinketh

Subscribe iTunes here! Subscribe: Android

“I cannot wait to see genes that operate in a vacuum.”

This Habits 2 Goals episode is FREE for ALL subscribers.

The “Nature vs. Nurture” debate can be traced to ancient Greece and perhaps earlier.

In the entertainment world, there have been several books, plays, and movies that touch upon the subject matter.

The riddle: How much influence does nature (genetics) versus nurture (environment: culture, family, friends, home, city, etc.) have upon one’s life?

For example, Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper, published in 1881, is a tale about two boys who were born on the same day, one a prince and the other a pauper; they accidentally switch places.

Not coincidentally, Trading Places, the 1983 hit comedy starring Eddie Murphy and Dan Akroyd, pursued the exact same theme.

Recently, I tripped upon a few well-done Khan Academy videos covering this debate. [I link to a few of their videos below.]

The short story: While these videos are very well produced, and the instructors do a fantastic job, the longer you watch them, the more your head will spin.

And spin.

Why?

Well, the instructors work hard to articulate how scientists are doing their best to “tease apart genetics and the environment.”

The instructor uses the example of “tea in hot water.”

Ultimately, though, we arrive at the “money” video:

“Gene Environment Interaction”

It ends with this statement (transcript):

This is the phenomenon known as Gene Envinronment Interaction. So, it's really an interaction between our genes and our environment that initiates the body's responses and behavior. So, we see that the environment is dependent on genetic predisposition. But gene expression is also dependent on the environment. And this is the phenomenon that we're referring to as gene/environment interaction. So, this idea is going to shift our vocabulary away from phrases like nature versus nurture. It's going to bring us to a more correct phraseology, nature through nurture.”

Have you heard the joke about the Zen monk and the hotdog vendor?

His order: “Make me one with everything!”

The longer you watch those videos – frankly, the longer you contemplate this “debate” – the more quickly you realize how futile it is.

“Nature versus nurture” is impossible. Nature through nurture, maybe. More likely, nature with nurture; nature one with nurture.

The Zen monk nailed it.

YOU ARE ONE WITH EVERYTHING.

Your body is NOT as separate as it may seem.

Go jump in the ocean and tell me your body doesn’t have a direct connection with the water.

Walk outside and tell me your body doesn’t have a direct connection with the air.

YOUR BODY IS ONE WITH ITS ENVIRONMENT.

(REPEAT)

Arguably, this is a core, driving idea behind epigenetics.

While it may be helpful to understand the various degrees to which each component influences the other, the “truth” is, that depends – often, a whole lot. (See bottom article.)

This leads us back to the “Three Circles of Behavior Echo System.”

This behavior-change model, Three Circles of Behavior Echo-System, reveals…

(drum roll, please)…

NATURE (genetics) and NURTURE (environment) are ONE!

As far as I know, it’s the only behavior-change model to reveal such a hypothesis.

Neither CBT (Cognitive Behavior Therapy) nor TTM (Transtheoretical Model) explicitly demonstrate or articulate that one’s body and environment are one.

Take another gander...

According to this behavior model, if something isn’t “Thinking/STORIES” (inner circle), or “Behaviors/Habits/Skills” (middle circle), or “Emotions/Feelings” (conduits/membranes), then that something is part of the “ENVIRONMENT.” This includes one’s body.

BTW: There is just ONE thing, arguably, that is outside the entire “Behavior Echo System.” Unfortunately, that discussion is for another day. Or, you can find the answer/hypothesis here, “EVERYTHING!”

While the timeless nature vs. nurture “debate” may be helpful, there is no way to fully separate one’s genes/body from their environment.

Even genes in a test tube possess an environmental influence.

Rather than debating nature vs nurture, more attention should be placed on the importance of using the ENVIRONMENT to facilitate the behaviors, habits and skills one is trying to cultivate.

Say it with me, “I am one with everything!”

Enjoy the show!

~mg

I teach and coach organizations and individuals worldwide how to best utilize and leverage “The Three Circles of Behavior Echo-System” and the P.A.R.R. [Plan, Act, Record & Reassess] methodology to craft game-changing habits on-demand. Learn more here: The 28-Day Breakthrough!

Reference: Khan Academy Videos

Twin and adoption studies: https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat/behavior/behavior-and-genetics/v/twin-studies-and-adoption-studies

Heritability: https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat/behavior/behavior-and-genetics/v/heritability

The “Money” video, Gene Environment Interaction: https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat/behavior/behavior-and-genetics/v/gene-environment-interaction

Article from the APA - American Psychological Association: Heritability: it's all relative: https://www.apa.org/monitor/apr04/herit.html

MORE: “The Three Circles of Behavior Echo-System” / The Grunburg Behavior Model is a holistic, fluid and dynamic behavior-change model. It is the first behavior-change model to demonstrate how our thoughts, feelings, behaviors and even our environment vibrate (echo and reverberate) to influence each other. Hence, the “Echo-System.”

Learn to optimize your behaviors – cultivate habits and skills – at will and on demand. Background info here.

The next 28-DAY BREAKTHROUGH! Learn more here —»: The 28-Day Breakthrough!

*Recently Awarded: “Finalist: Self-help, Motivation”International Book Awards: EVERYTHING is a F*cking STORY.

Visit https://thehabitfactor.com/templates

To learn more about P.A.R.R., just Google “P.A.R.R. and The Habit Factor.”

Get The Habit Factor® FREE with your audible trial! https://audibletrial.com/habits2goals

Feedspot’s “Top 10 Habit Podcasts You Must Follow in 2021”

New listeners, grab your free habits 2 goals tracking template here: https://thehabitfactor.com/templates

FREE copy of As a Man Thinketh (PDF) right here: As a Man Thinketh

Subscribe iTunes here! Subscribe: Android

“Take away paradox from the thinker and you have a professor.” ~Søren Kierkegaard

This Habits 2 Goals episode is FREE for ALL subscribers.

In 2014 I wrote It’s Both! Your (Habitual) Dichotomous Thinking is Killing You.

That’s right, “Killing You!”

I went a bit deeper on this concept in The Pressure Paradox™ (2015).

It’s worth revisiting as the idea is essential to critical thinking and, interestingly enough, peace of mind.

A sure sign of a mature mind is one that can hold two opposing ideas together, at the same time (most of the time).

The reason we’re revisiting the concept is that I’m noticing it’s percolating elsewhere.

Let’s begin with Matthew McConaughey’s latest book (Sept 2023) Just Because.

Just Because is an illustrated kid’s book designed to teach children many life lessons.

In so doing, it fosters “Both” thinking.” Few lessons may be more important to understand for children.

Straight from McConaughey’s book, examples on Amazon.com.

“Just because they don’t hear you, doesn’t mean you don’t have a voice.”

“Just because you follow, it doesn’t mean you aren’t a leader.”

“Just because you are sitting still, it doesn’t mean you are not busy.”

Another recent book is actually titled, “BOTH/AND Thinking” by Harvard Review Press, August of 2022.

I’m guessing “dichotomous” in any title is a bit much.

Here’s how that book is summarized on Amazon.

Life is full of paradoxes. How can we each express our individuality while also being a team player? How do we balance work and life? How can we improve diversity while promoting opportunities for all? How can we manage the core business while innovating for the future?

For many of us, these competing and interwoven demands are a source of conflict. Since our brains love to make either-or choices, we choose one option over the other. We deal with the uncertainty by asserting certainty.

Finally, there is The Power of And: Responsible Business Without Trade-Offs Columbia Business School Publishing. June 2020.

Another book elucidating the very idea; tailored for the business world.

“The Power of And” offers a new narrative about the nature of business, revealing the focus on responsibility AND ethics.

Sounds a lot like BOTH/AND thinking to me.

It is the appreciation – the recognition of multiple paths, multiple perspectives and paradigms, that ultimately leads to freedom — even enlightenment.

For instance, you must know what the customer wants AND you must trust and move according to your own intuition.

“You are absolutely, 100% totally unique, one-of-a-kind. And, you are just like everyone else.”

You must pay attention to the little things AND you must have a long-term, macro-perspective.

You must never settle AND you must, most definitely, on occasion settle.

Are we really “wired” to choose one answer/option/solution over another?

“Wired” may not be the right way to describe it.

In the West, in particular, society loves to pit “right” against “wrong”. Left vs Right. Up vs Down. Meat vs Veggies.

More often than not, my friends, it’s BOTH.

This reminds me of the old saying, “The Left Wing” and “The Right Wing” are connected to the same bird.

BOTH. ONE. NON-DICHOTOMOUS.

Say it with me, it’s BOTH!

The answer, more often than not, is BOTH/AND and maybe even, Just Because.

Just because you think there is a single answer, doesn’t mean there aren’t many.

Love your show!

Sidenote: The truth is life is dynamic, fluid (recent episode), and holistic.

By the way, this is precisely what “The Three Circles of Behavior Echo-System” / The Grunburg Behavior Model represents (ask Bard). It’s a holistic, fluid and dynamic behavior model that humans and organizations can use to design behaviors.

Arguably, it’s the most accurate human behavior model to date. Learn more here.

The next 28-DAY BREAKTHROUGH! Learn more here —»: The 28-Day Breakthrough!

*Recently Awarded: “Finalist: Self-help, Motivation”International Book Awards: EVERYTHING is a F*cking STORY.

Visit https://thehabitfactor.com/templates

To learn more about P.A.R.R., just Google “P.A.R.R. and The Habit Factor.”

Get The Habit Factor® FREE with your audible trial! https://audibletrial.com/habits2goals

Feedspot’s “Top 10 Habit Podcasts You Must Follow in 2021”

New listeners, grab your free habits 2 goals tracking template here: https://thehabitfactor.com/templates

FREE copy of As a Man Thinketh (PDF) right here: As a Man Thinketh

Subscribe iTunes here! Subscribe: Android

“Yeah, Mr. White! Yeah, science!” ~Jesse Pinkman

This Habits 2 Goals episode is FREE for ALL subscribers!

For our 25th anniversary, my wife and I visited Denmark, Sweden and Italy. One night, in Italy, our hotel’s satellite TV was down.

Before heading to bed, she dialed up her Netflix account and soon enough, we found ourselves watching Breaking Bad; our third time through the series!

Breaking Bad is ridiculously GOOD.

What caught my attention in this particular episode (Season 1, Ep 7) is a fairly comical scene where Mr. White – a grossly overqualified high-school chemistry teacher – has to resort to a motivational/personal development cliché, with the hope of inspiring his would-be crystal meth-dealing partner.

“JESSE, TODAY IS THE FIRST DAY OF THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!”

Walter White begins shaking Jesse by the shoulders.

The irony of White’s aspirational statement against their criminal intent is clever.

Mr. White challenges his former student, Jesse Pinkmen to “think bigger” and not “live a life of fear,” as he requests that he go on a shopping spree for several ingredients to make their largest batch of crystal methamphetamine ever.

“Jesse, today is the FIRST DAY of the rest of your life!” Mr. White reiterates the message.

This scene serves as an ironic/comical backdrop because it inspired this episode of Habits 2 Goals.

We’ve covered this topic before, from a slightly different angle. Then, there was no Breaking Bad reference and we took a different tack. You can find that episode here, One Day!

“Today is the first day of the rest of your life! But, what kind of life will it be, huh? Will it be a life of fear? Oh… no, no, no… I can’t do this… of never once believing in yourself? ~Walter White

It’s fair to say we can all reflect upon Walter White’s questions.

Will you live in fear today?

Will today be the day you believe in yourself?

Will today be a day you challenge yourself?

Will today be the first day you begin to drink water with all your meals?

Will today be the first day you try fasting?

Will today be the first day you begin walking 3 miles… maybe jogging?

Will today be the first day you begin to meditate?

Will today be the first day you begin saving money?

Is today day one? Or, is it just another day?

While the messenger is just a fictional criminal. The message is pure GOLD.

Will you challenge yourself TODAY?

Can you make TODAY special?

Will you start something TODAY that makes you proud?

What new positive habit will you begin cultivating, TODAY?

TODAY really is the first day of the rest of your life.

Make it memorable.

Enjoy the show!

The next 28-DAY BREAKTHROUGH! Learn more here —»: The 28-Day Breakthrough!

*Recently Awarded: “Finalist: Self-help, Motivation”International Book Awards: EVERYTHING is a F*cking STORY.

Visit https://thehabitfactor.com/templates

To learn more about P.A.R.R., just Google “P.A.R.R. and The Habit Factor.”

Get The Habit Factor® FREE with your audible trial! https://audibletrial.com/habits2goals

Feedspot’s “Top 10 Habit Podcasts You Must Follow in 2021”

New listeners, grab your free habits 2 goals tracking template here: https://thehabitfactor.com/templates

FREE copy of As a Man Thinketh (PDF) right here: As a Man Thinketh

Subscribe iTunes here! Subscribe: Android

“One of the best reasons to start habit tracking is that you will develop an ancillary habit, DISCIPLINE.”

This Habits 2 Goals episode is FREE for ALL subscribers. The next 28-DAY BREAKTHROUGH! program begins 10/3/23!Learn more here —» The 28-Day Breakthrough!

You’ve never tracked habits before? That’s alright, most people haven’t.

After all, life is meant to be lived, not tracked, right?

Well, it turns out, you can and should do both; live and track.

As an example, Benjamin Franklin tracked his habits (13 virtues) for approximately sixty years.

Sixty years!

Apparently, habit tracking is what Hindu priests do as well to refine their character and concentrate better.

Habit tracking is an effective method for goal achievement.

If your goals are important, you should begin habit tracking.

Many people think that discipline is required to track habits.

The truth is that discipline is a HABIT.

Discipline is strengthened via habit tracking.

Nobody is born disciplined.

Habit tracking is difficult at first because it requires willpower.

What’s the difference between willpower and discipline?

Here are some general definitions:

Willpower: Control exerted to do something or restrain impulses.

Discipline: A system of rules of conduct. That “system” is developed via habit-tracking.

Habit tracking develops discipline because it aligns one’s intentions (what they say they will do), with willpower (what they actually do).

Habit tracking is where the proverbial “rubber meets the road.”

People talk a lot about what they are “going to do.”

P.A.R.R., as a habit-tracking method, helps to ensure that one’s intentions and actions actually intersect.

P.A.R.R. stands for PLAN. ACT. RECORD & REASSESS.

After 13+ years of proven success stories, the P.A.R.R. method stands alone for systematic success in developing habits and improving one’s habitstrength.

When P.A.R.R. was originally introduced (2010, The Habit Factor® was published), many of the top behavioral scientists said that habit tracking was not effective.

However, today there are scientific studies backing the efficacy of habit tracking and the P.A.R.R. methodology.

For that reason alone, understanding the best habit-tracking method can save you a lot of time and frustration.

Benefits of following the P.A.R.R. method to develop habits:

* It sets you up for success early.

* By establishing a PLAN with low “Minimum Success Criteria” and low “Frequency per Week”, you are more likely to succeed.

* P.A.R.R. uses what are called “Target Days.”

* Target days establish your frequency per week. For one habit, target days might be: M,W, Sa. For another they might be Tu,Th, Sa.

* There is NO requirement to perform habits every day. In many cases that fallacy is what sets people up for failure.

* P.A.R.R. uses a 28-day, 4 Week rhythm for habit tracking.

* This provides a crucial reassessment period and allows the user to “raise the bar” in successive 28-day periods. See habitstrength™ below.

* P.A.R.R. anticipates that you’ll fall off track.

* By following P.A.R.R., you can miss a day, a few days, a week or even a month and still develop habits and achieve your goals!

* P.A.R.R. leverages your innate human capacities of Choice, Intention & Reflection.

* Cue, Routine, Reward, another “framework” for habit development, popularized by The Power of Habit and Atomic Habits, is based upon the study of rodents.

* You are not a rodent. Cue Routine Reward is very limited in its value for human habit development.

* Habitstrength™: Finally, the best reason to follow P.A.R.R. is the recognition that on the path to habit development – a period that could take several months – it’s the compounding of each successive 4-week tracking period that enhances habitstrength™.

* As habitstrength™ improves with each successive 4-week tracking period, automaticity (the sensation that these behaviors become more automatic) increases and the habit becomes stronger.

* P.A.R.R. works as well for SKILL development. Habits and skills are essentially developed the same way; intentional practice. The P.A.R.R. methodology is a systematic process to increase both habit and skill strength.

When you track habits and skills by following the P.A.R.R. methodology, you increase habitstrength and develop discipline.

For detailed, step-by-step instructions on P.A.R.R. be sure to download the FREE habits to goals tracking template at https://thehabitfactor.com/templates and/or Google the following: “PARR and The Habit Factor”

Enjoy the show!

The next 28-DAY BREAKTHROUGH! Cohort begins 10/3/23!Learn more here —»: The 28-Day Breakthrough!

*Recently Awarded: “Finalist: Self-help, Motivation”International Book Awards: EVERYTHING is a F*cking STORY.

Visit https://thehabitfactor.com/templates

To learn more about P.A.R.R., just Google “P.A.R.R. and The Habit Factor.”

Get The Habit Factor® FREE with your audible trial! https://audibletrial.com/habits2goals

Feedspot’s “Top 10 Habit Podcasts You Must Follow in 2021”

New listeners, grab your free habits 2 goals tracking template here: https://thehabitfactor.com/templates

FREE copy of As a Man Thinketh (PDF) right here: As a Man Thinketh

Subscribe iTunes here! Subscribe: Android

“The difference between a good life and a bad life is how well you walk through fire.” ~ Carl Jung

This Habits 2 Goals episode is FREE for ALL subscribers. The next 28-DAY BREAKTHROUGH! program begins 10/3/23!Learn more here —» The 28-Day Breakthrough!

What if a key difference between the successful person and the unsuccessful person was how well they navigate life’s difficulties?

The fact is, nobody escapes life’s challenges.

Yet, we all know people who seem to complicate matters when things get tough.

They react rather than respond.

What’s the difference?

Animals, babies, and small children REACT.

Humans have the capacity to RESPOND.

By pausing, an emotionally mature adult can (more often than not), direct their response – tailor it – toward a desirable outcome.

Meanwhile, reacting often compounds problems.

Think of the people who seem to have drama follow them everywhere; work, home, events, relationships, etc.

The collective drama isn’t a random coincidence. Rather, it’s the source of compounding troubles; and constant reactions.

One poor reaction after another.

Jack Canfield offered an important formula in his “Success Principles” book:

E + R = O

Event + Response = Outcome

Responding is what emotionally mature adults do most of the time.

As human BEINGS, we get to choose how we’d like to BE (act).

You are the only creature in the world that can step outside of your “3 Circles of Behavior Echo-System,” assess and even design it.

Consider that for a moment. No other creature can do this.

Humans can ask:

Is my environment conducive for my goals?

Are my behaviors, habits and skills conducive for my goals?

Is my thinking – the stories running through my head – conducive for my goals?

That’s what the spotlight represents, your AWARENESS.

To access it, PRESS PAUSE.

Are you responding in a way that guides you through life’s challenges better — to help you toward your goals and ideals?

Or, are you reacting?

Maybe it’s time to press pause and begin responding more.

Enjoy the show!

The next 28-DAY BREAKTHROUGH! program begins 10/3/23!Learn more here —» The 28-Day Breakthrough!

*Recently Awarded: “Finalist: Self-help, Motivation”International Book Awards: EVERYTHING is a F*cking STORY.

Visit https://thehabitfactor.com/templates

To learn more about P.A.R.R., just Google “P.A.R.R. and The Habit Factor.”

Get The Habit Factor® FREE with your audible trial! https://audibletrial.com/habits2goals

Feedspot’s “Top 10 Habit Podcasts You Must Follow in 2021”

New listeners, grab your free habits 2 goals tracking template here: https://thehabitfactor.com/templates

FREE copy of As a Man Thinketh (PDF) right here: As a Man Thinketh

Subscribe iTunes here! Subscribe: Android

“Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood." ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

This Habits 2 Goals episode is FREE for ALL subscribers.

After hearing a Gooroo caution his students, “When it comes to relationships, you must be very careful; relationships are dynamic.”

I thought to myself. “That is kind of “funny.”

Last time I checked, LIFE IS DYNAMIC.

Thus, what got us “here” might not necessarily get us “there.”

Deepak Chopra put it like this

“The world is not a static place. It is constantly changing and evolving. To live a fulfilling life, we must embrace this dynamism and be willing to adapt to change.”

Such an observation underscores the importance of setting worthwhile goals and ideals; the type that helps us to transform.

We covered this in a prior episode, “Two Types of Goals.”

“The best way to predict the future is to create it.” ~Peter Drucker

It’s the dynamism of life that forces us to keep upgrading our skills and habits to evolve —to keep up with the pace of change.

Even better, the pursuit of worthwhile goals and ideals allows us to direct change. (Peter’s point above.)

It’s hardly just relationships that are dynamic.

Thus, we should perpetually ask, “What new habits and skills should I be cultivating, now?”

Some cynics may say. “My results are great — I’m good. I don’t need to change.”

Maybe.

It’s worth considering that today’s solution may not be a fit in the ever-changing jigsaw puzzle that is tomorrow.

Enjoy the show!

Our next 28-DAY BREAKTHROUGH program begins… 10/3/23!

More info here: The 28-Day Breakthrough!

*Recently Awarded: “Finalist: Self-help, Motivation” International Book Awards: EVERYTHING is a F*cking STORY.

Visit https://thehabitfactor.com/templates

Cue, Routine and Reward is for rodents—» Learn about P.A.R.R., just Google “P.A.R.R. and The Habit Factor.”

Get The Habit Factor® FREE with your audible trial! https://audibletrial.com/habits2goals

Feedspot’s “Top 10 Habit Podcasts You Must Follow in 2021”

New listeners, grab your free habits 2 goals tracking template here: https://thehabitfactor.com/templates

FREE copy of As a Man Thinketh (PDF) right here: As a Man Thinketh

Subscribe iTunes here! Subscribe: Android

“The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.” ~Leo Tolstoy.”

This Habits 2 Goals episode is FREE for ALL subscribers.

What if patience was the key to mastering your universe?

If courage is the mother of all virtues (according to Aristotle), arguably the father, along with prudence, could be patience.

Let’s run through some of the advantages of developing the virtue of being patient.

“Patience is the key to paradise.” ~ Persian Proverb

* Patience helps you achieve your goals.

* Patience helps you make better decisions.

* Patience helps you to build stronger relationships.

* Patience helps you manage stress better.

* Patience helps you stay calm in difficult situations.

* Patience helps you learn from your mistakes.

* Patience can help you be more creative.

* Patience can help you become more resilient.

* Patience can help you be more compassionate.

* Patience helps you to cultivate discipline.

* Patience will enhance mindfulness.

* Patience will help you control your emotions.

* Patience will help you to be more tolerant of others.

* Patience helps you be more grateful.

* Patience can foster optimism.

* Patience will enhance resilience.

* Patience can save your life

* Patience leads to prudence.

* Patience will help you make a positive impact on the world.

* Patience leads to tranquility and harmony.

* Patience helps you see things for what they are

In Siddhartha, the fantastic novel by Hermann Hess, Siddhartha resorts to a mantra – a schema – that guides him through his challenge-filled journey.

“I can think. I can wait. I can fast.”

“I can think. I can wait. I can fast.”

“I can think. I can wait. I can fast.”

Now, we migrate in a semi-parallel fashion from Siddhartha to Yoda, Master Jedi. It was Yoda who cautioned a young Luke Skywalker, “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”

Yoda could have easily offered: “Impatience is the path to the dark side.”

Impatience leads to frustration. Frustration leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.

Enjoy the show!

You keep saying you’re stuck… that you just need a breakthrough? Well, here it is: JUST 12 SPOTS LEFT for the next, 28-DAY BREAKTHROUGH! Program starts again… 10/3/23!

Sign up today! —»: The 28-Day Breakthrough!

*Recently Awarded: “Finalist: Self-help, Motivation” International Book Awards: EVERYTHING is a F*cking STORY.

Visit https://thehabitfactor.com/templates

To learn more about P.A.R.R., just Google “P.A.R.R. and The Habit Factor.”

Get The Habit Factor® FREE with your audible trial! https://audibletrial.com/habits2goals

Feedspot’s “Top 10 Habit Podcasts You Must Follow in 2021”

New listeners, grab your free habits 2 goals tracking template here: https://thehabitfactor.com/templates

FREE copy of As a Man Thinketh (PDF) right here: As a Man Thinketh

Subscribe iTunes here! Subscribe: Android

“What I didn’t realize is that everyone is a sailor. Everyone is sailing somewhere.”

This Habits 2 Goals episode is FREE for ALL subscribers.

Right now you are sailing somewhere.

The question is, “Do you know where you are headed?”

It’s important to recognize that if you’re not pursuing an ideal destination, chances are, you’ll end up somewhere else.

Yogi Berra put it this way…

“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.”

Seneca the great Stoic philosopher said, “If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.”

No wind is favorable.

No wind can help the sailor who doesn’t know where they are headed.

If success is creating your ideal future then, it becomes one’s onus – their responsibility – to know where, ideally, they’d like to go.

Do you know where that is?

If not, that is priority #1. (See below info about The 28-Day Breakthrough!)

Clarity – knowing your ideal destination – is essential for living a content and fulfilling life.

Now, to be clear, just knowing your ideal destination isn’t enough to guarantee that you’ll arrive. However, not knowing certainly assures that you’ll never arrive.

You are a creature — a CREATOR. These two words are inextricably linked.

They offer you a way to think about your place in the universe and your relationship to the divine.

You are sailing somewhere, right now.

Do you like where you are headed?

The beauty is that, just like any vessel, you can change course by identifying where you want to go and then grabbing the steering wheel.

Enjoy the show!

JUST 12 SPOTS ARE AVAILABLE FOR OUR NEXT 28-DAY BREAKTHROUGH! PROGRAM WHICH BEGINS 10/3/23!

Get on the waitlist today!

Check it out here: The 28-Day Breakthrough!

*Recently Awarded: “Finalist: Self-help, Motivation” International Book Awards: EVERYTHING is a F*cking STORY.

Visit https://thehabitfactor.com/templates

To learn more about P.A.R.R., just Google “P.A.R.R. and The Habit Factor.”

Get The Habit Factor® FREE with your audible trial! https://audibletrial.com/habits2goals

Feedspot’s “Top 10 Habit Podcasts You Must Follow in 2021”

New listeners, grab your free habits 2 goals tracking template here: https://thehabitfactor.com/templates

FREE copy of As a Man Thinketh (PDF) right here: As a Man Thinketh

Subscribe iTunes here! Subscribe: Android