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Lyt når som helst, hvor som helst 

Martin Grunburg

WE ARE NOW LIVE ON SUBSTACK w/ H2G Premium Content!
If you’ve ever struggled to achieve your goals you are not alone! The reason just might be because ALL prior goal achievement methods missed ONE key element— habit!  
That's right, The Habit Factor® (bestselling book and app) exposed a timeless truth that helped to launch an entirely new genre of productivity apps (habit trackers) and help thousands around the world achieve their goals faster!
There’s a reason top coaches, consultants, trainers, Professional athletes, Olympians, PhD’s and the very best learning institutions world-wide have adopted and recommend The Habit Factor®.
Learn The Habit Factor's method for goal achievement and how to use Habit Alignment Technology™ to achieve your most important goals faster than you ever thought possible!
Learn more at:  http://thehabitfactor.com 

habits2goals.substack.com

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

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit habits2goals.substack.com/subscribe

🚨 The Habit Tracking Controversy (Yes, there was one...) is Finally Over. UBM Ended It.

Happppppppppy New Year!!! 🎉

Here’s to a safe, prosperous, and phenomenally clear 2026…a year full of growth, action, and gratitude.

I’m deeply grateful for your readership, participation, and contributions.

May the FORCE of UBM be with you! 🎉🍾🥂🎆Tony Robbins shares a story that he’s probably told a few thousand times.

It’s his origin story.

Same story. Over and over.

You don’t get to write the bestseller and disappear.

I used to think that was the case.

Nope.

You show up. Day after day. Again and again.

And, you keep telling your story.

Nobody records a podcast episode and vanishes.

If your work really helps people, you keep showing up and producing.

Over and over…

500+ episodes later... here we are…

So, yes, it used to kill me to tell my Catalina Classic (32-mile, open-ocean paddle) story over and over.

Now I get it.

It’s just part of the territory.

I love Tony’s origin story… and it goes something like this…

He’s seventeen-ish… late 70’s

A friend of his father’s invites him to earn some extra money moving furniture over the weekend.

Tony’s hustle— energy—stood out. So the guy invites him to lunch; mid-sandwich, Tony asks: “How did you become successful?”

The guy pauses, smiles, and says, “Honestly? I went to a seminar.”

Tony blinks. “What’s a seminar?”

The man explains:

A seminar is where someone who’s accomplished something—figured out a few things—gets on a stage and shares the very best lessons… He teaches things that will literally shave years of struggle off your life… all boiled down into about three hours.

Tony exclaims, “Wow! That sounds amazing. Can you get me in?”

The guy nods. “I probably could. But I won’t.”

“…Wait—what?” Tony’s confused.

Mentor-guy says, “Look, if I give it to you for free, you’re not going to value it.”

Tony asks, “How much is it?”

“It’s about forty bucks.”

Tony stares. “That’s a week’s pay. No way!”

The guy replies—without missing a beat: “Cool. Enjoy the next twenty years of struggle.”

Tony scrapes the money together.

Goes to the seminar.

Ultimately, he becomes the speaker’s protégé—Jim Rohn, who at the time was selling his Adventures in Achievement course.

Then, as they say in storybook land,

THE REST IS HISTORY…Why Share That Story?

I’m guessing you know.

Behavior Architecture is the product of my twenty-plus years of struggle.

The books: The Habit Factor, The Pressure Paradox, Everything is a Fcking Story.*

Together, they laid the foundation.

Now, they’ve given rise to something unprecedented:

the first elemental, unified, goal-directed, and falsifiable model of behavior.

Nearly six months after publication, every attempt by behavioral scientists as well as top LLM/AI has been unsuccessful.

UBM stands. 1500 downloads later…. a scientific response/presentation to the field’s imperative for a unified framework.

Done.

------UBM has a single mission:

To deliver the clearest, most practical, holistic framework to help anyone architect their habits, skills, goals, and life.

Not just theory.Not just big ideas.But in practice—a scientifically validated, proven framework.

Yes, proven.

Let’s be clear:Nobody else in the world can say that. That’s not boasting. It’s science.

Of course… YES! It’s backed by a 110% money-back guarantee.(Seriously. Full details on the site.)

Here’s the funny thing...

When there’s ZERO RISK, the real challenge reveals itself.

It’s no longer about the course.

It’s no longer about its value.

It’s definitely not about the science.

It’s about the MIRROR.

Because if the program delivers—If it offers what one participant of FC-01 (Australian CEO) described in his review(let me see if I have this correct… ; )

“UNBELIEVABLE VALUE”

Then the question is rarely about the money.

It’s about YOU.

Are you ready to do the work?

Behavior Architecture is the last behavior-change course you’ll need.

Risk-free. Guaranteed.

The Founders Cohort 01 (FC-01) experience was sooooo GOOOOOOOD….Here’s your special offer:

The NEW YEAR, NEW SCIENCE, FINALLY, NEW YOU. 50% OFF enrollment!!

Until January 7, 2026, or as available.

That’s HALF-OFFPLUS, a 110% risk-free guarantee.

See you on the inside!

👇PROMO CODE: “NewScience”Grab your 50% OFF!

New Year. 🎆New Science. 🔬New You. 💪🏽
 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit habits2goals.substack.com/subscribe

What’s a Seminar?

How the Unified Behavior Model Was Unearthed—and Why This Is Your Last Chance to Join the Founders Cohort

The 8-Day intensive kicks off 12/11/25 on Maven.com.It’s designed to rapidly accelerate your understanding of UBM—and explode your effectiveness.

✅ 110% Money-Back Guarantee🔒 Zero risk, high upside🕓 Only 4 days left—sign-up closes 12/9

Learn more + enroll now:https://maven.com/thehabitfactor/behavior-architecture

Quick exercise: Close your eyes and think back to where you were last December—physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, spiritually, financially, and professionally.

Can you remember your vision? The goals you set? How did you hope 2025 would unfold?

In short, you probably had a few goals. So… how did it go? How much progress did you make?

10%? 25%? 0%?

If you crushed it, congratulations!!

Next week, Behavior Architecture – Founders Cohort kicks off!

Already a handful of PROFESSIONAL COACHES are enrolled!

That should tell you all you need to know.

It’s their job to understand and teach behavior—to help their clients achieve their GOALS!

Thus, New Year. New Science… New You?

» SAVE an instant $200 » Behavior Architecture

What is Behavior Architecture?

Let’s begin with what it is NOT.

It’s NOT hype.

It’s NOT marketing.

It’s A SCIENTIFIC framework that emerged from a 150-year behavioral science riddle.

You can find out more and read it yourself. UnifiedBehaviorModel.com

Your Excuses…

“I don’t have the time.”

That’s the opposite of architect mode.

You’re locked inside tenant mode—trapped within your own Behavior Echo-System (BES) by your existing HABITS, unable to step back and proactively DESIGN and architect your behaviors and goals.

To be fair, some people do have greater time commitments. That’s precisely why ~85% of the Behavior Architecture coursework is ASYNC. Meaning: you do it in your social media time, miscellaneous downtime, lunch breaks—your usual “lost time.”

“I don’t have the money.”

If this is a genuine issue, we’ve set aside a few scholarships. You can email me directly for more information.

“I’ve tried EVERYTHING—this won’t work for me.”

Two quick thoughts. First, you haven’t tried everything. UBM is brand new. This course is brand new.

Second, with that attitude, you’re right. If you truly believe nothing will work for you… nothing will work for you.

“What if it SUCKS? I’ve just thrown away money.”

Do NOT enroll if you don’t have a sincere desire to LEARN, GROW, and APPLY the principles.

There is a 110% money-back, risk-free guarantee, and you can read all about it here: Behavior Architecture (YES, that link saves you an INSTANT $200!)

From Tenant Mode to Architect Mode

Here’s where it clicks:

Most people live in Tenant Mode. Essentially, forever.

Tenant Mode is reactive. Mostly automatic.

At the mercy of their environment, emotions, default stories—and default behaviors (habits).

Your home is already designed.

You’re in it right now.It might be so comfortable, there’s no “reason” to leave.

That’s the catch.

Everyone gets pulled in.And most stay there as long as possible.

Just wait…When something shifts—and life is nothing but change—will you know what to adjust?

A deadline moves.A relationship ends.Your energy crashes.A habit, once solid, suddenly fades.

Where do you look?

INSTANT $200 Savings here→ Join the waitlist here and lock in your Founders rate

Cut through the chaos, the confusion, and the overwhelm with pure, scientific CLARITY.

🚨 The habit tracking controversy has finally been settled. Section 7.0 of the UBM whitepaper addresses every objection.

Done and Done. Read it here →

📄 Free habit tracking template: thehabitfactor.com/templates

📖 Full UBM whitepaper: Zenodo.org

📚 The trilogy that unearthed UBM:

* The Habit Factor®

* The Pressure Paradox™

* EVERYTHING

🌐 Learn more: unifiedbehaviormodel.com
 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit habits2goals.substack.com/subscribe

Behavior Architecture

On July 8th, in what can only be described as an act of reckless clarity, we published a white paper (grab it here—>) Unified Behavioral Model™ — Read more… listen now.

Disclaimer: The following is a bit tongue-in-cheek. Just a bit.

I have the utmost respect for the behavioral science community and its vast contributions—including the many scientists whose work has directly shaped my own.

That said, the more I learn about the history of attempts to unify behavioral science (and, by association, psychology)—and then set those challenges alongside the Unified Behavior Model (UBM) as it now exists—formally published (elemental and falsifiable), 500+ downloads later—the more peculiar the entire situation becomes.

To be clear: it’s only in hindsight that these “obvious” errors and omissions—both in behavioral science (BS) and in its unification efforts—come into focus.

Subscribe now

Tip #1: Make Sure Only True Insiders Get to Play

Whatever you do, don’t approach this unification challenge from the outside. That’s where troublemakers and fresh ideas tend to arise—reportedly. 👇

Imagine that… via Stanford Business. Where is Stanford’s own Psychology Department when it comes to UBM? @stanfordpsypodInstead, ensure that no outside ideas are taken into account and non sneak their way in—even via OPEN SCIENCE. 

Better yet, throw up your hands and surrender: 

“Why Psychology Isn’t Unified, and Probably Never Will Be…” 

“PROBABLY NEVER WILL BE.”

Valid points to be sure…

“Why a Unified Theory of Psychology is Impossible”

Unification as a Goal for Psychology

It goes on and on—for several reasons, dear friends, which appear below.

Tip #2 Prioritize Knowledge over Imagination

Ensure that only those fluent in four-letter acronyms, armed with multiple advanced degrees, and a dense theoretical vernacular are entrusted with presenting “novel” ideas.

Further, insist that only those who can quote James, Pavlov, Watson, Bandura, Maslow, Skinner, and Freud backward and forward—and who possess psychological libraries spanning generations—be invited to contribute.

“Imagination is more important than knowledge.” ~Einstein

Tip #3: Form a Large Committee. The Larger, the Better

Nothing unifies quite like 23—or maybe 43—strong personalities in one room.

When “top behavioral theorists” gather for a week-long consortium, be sure to take minutes, roll in the whiteboard, and order extra coffee.

Everyone knows: the more expert opinions, the quicker a consensus.

As history (and a few hallucinating AIs) like to remind us, when it comes to unification attempts, the go-to answers are always consortia, committees, and bowling alleys.

Darwin famously huddled with his nine-person advisory council.

Einstein wouldn’t dream of publishing without first posting to social media.

And Newton? Legendary for his gravitational consortiums.

Here’s a nutty thought: what if that unified model came from one person on the fringe? (The fringe—see above ☝️.)

One person. U N I — F I C A T I O N.

⚠️ WARNING: Unification carries a dangerous synonym—coherence.

By extension, it implies that the 150-year exercise known as behavioral science—and its twin sister, psychology—are, brace yourself...

INCOHERENT.

Oy.

To be clear, that’s not me talking, it’s Webster.

If you didn’t catch the 1991 reference—well, that was when the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) convened a “Top Behavioral Consortium.” 

Its noble goal? 

To create a “Unified Framework.”

“What emerged?” you ask.

The meeting —a week long gathering—brought together “leading human behavior theorists”. While a comprehensive roster of all attendees from this specific 1991 meeting is not fully detailed in the available documentation, a critical outcome of this expert gathering was the acknowledgment that 

“there was no consensus among the theorists” 

on a single, universally accepted unified framework.

Imagine that.
 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit habits2goals.substack.com/subscribe

How to Keep Behavioral Science Comfortably Incoherent — i.e., Ununified

On July 8th, in what can only be described as an act of reckless clarity, we published a white paper (grab it here—>) Unified Behavioral Model™ — Read more… listen now.

Subscribe now

“Science may be described as the art of systematic oversimplification.” ― Karl Popper

What makes UBM so unique—so different from prevalent behavioral models?

First, let’s clear up a common misconception:

UBM—specifically the Behavior Echo-System (BES)—is a model of behavior, not a model of a person.

People often see the graphic and assume it represents themselves, or a diagram of the human body. It doesn’t.

As Dr. Popper’s statement above suggests, UBM simply articulates how behavior is influenced in the moment and shaped over time—within the system.

Now, here’s the B.I.G. claim:

UBM is falsifiable.

In science, that’s the gold standard.(Period.)

If a theory can’t be tested or broken, it’s just storytelling. Worse yet, Karl Popper would say it’s non-science.

What’s his core claim? 

Science and non-science are divided by a single demarcation: Falsifiability.

UBM asks—check that, insists—“Go for it… Please try to break me.”

Apparently, no other behavior model—certainly not a unified one—has ever done that.

Kind of interesting? Maybe just a bit?

Worth mentioning, at least?

Or dedicating, I don’t know… twenty-plus years to uncovering?

UBM/BES Comparison Table & Major Prevalent Models as provided by DeepSeek.

According to Dr. Karl Popper—and as noted in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, “Karl Popper is generally regarded as one of the greatest philosophers of science of the twentieth century”—if a theory can’t be tested (or broken), it’s just storytelling. Worse, he’d call it “non-science.”

Just to be clear: that’s Dr. Popper, philosopher and trained psychologist, who introduced the idea of falsifiability (and gave us that delightful bit with the Black Swan).

So yeah—if you can’t at least attempt to break it, he says, it doesn’t count.

UBM is so confident in its falsifiability that it’s offering a $1,000 reward to the first person to prove there’s a missing fifth element—one that isn’t reducible or emergent. (See below and bottom for official entry details.)

So far: nearly 500 downloads and…

Nada. Zip. Zilch. NOTHING.

Even the world’s top AIs—ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Grok, DeepSeek—took their shots.

They’ve all struck out. 

Attempts include: Time (environmental), Consciousness (emergent from the system), Willpower (embodied environment), Self-Organization (embodied environment—note the “self” in self-organization).

The list goes on, and it’s kind of funny. Google’s Gemini, for example, offered a “someday” quantum property we don’t even know of yet.

Seriously.

Just to be clear: if we don’t know of it yet, and we can’t test it—it’s not a valid fifth element.

DeepSeek’s parting words? Also comical...

“UBM 1. DS 0... Game respects game.”

And, here’s Gemini’s best response after half dozen attempts…

Gemini tries desperately to break the Unified Behavior Model and fails.

The difficulty in falsification, as intended by the model’s design, is a powerful indicator of its conceptual strength and it’s potential to serve as a TRULY UNIFYING FRAMEWORK FOR BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE. ~Gemini 8/4/2025

Some have argued, “Well, UBM is overly simplified.”

Really?

Then why hasn’t anyone discovered it before—or more accurately, uncovered it and brought it to light?

Surely, by now—150 years in—some behavioral scientist, somewhere in the world, would’ve presented this kind of systematic “oversimplification,” right?

Let’s go over that one more time:

“Science may be described as the art of systematic oversimplification.” ― Karl Popper

This is precisely Dr. Popper’s point: science progresses by oversimplifying—systematically.

Voila: UBM. 👇

“Great theories have simple pictorial representation.” —Michio Kaku

The Behavior Echo-System (BES): the systematic simplification of behavior.

Which makes it—by definition—the elemental science of behavior.

Allegedly.

Until—and unless—you produce the Black Swan.

(Looking at you, top psych departments—according to U.S. News & World Report, 2025): @StanfordPsych, @HarvardPsych, @UCBPsychology, @UCLPALS, @Psych_at_Yale, @UMichPsych, @UCLA_Psych, @UCSDPsych, @OxfordPsych, @PrincetonPsych.

Please, with all due respect, step right up. 👊 🤙 🙏
 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit habits2goals.substack.com/subscribe

Black Swan Me | Unified Behavior Model™

“Everything should be made as simple as possible—but not simpler.” — Einstein

Let’s cut to it:

The Unified Behavior Model (UBM) may be the first-ever behavioral framework that’s elemental, falsifiable, and actually teachable to anyone—not just researchers or therapists.

UBM reveals what’s really driving your behavior (in the moment and shaping it over time)—not by various aspects, but via the operable “system”—the Behavior-Echo-System™.

The Behavior Echo-System (BES)

Environmentally speaking, the BES consists of multiple, dynamic feedback loops based upon just four elemental, interdependent components:

Environment (your surroundings + your body)

Behaviors, Habits, and Skills (what you do—or don’t)

Stories/Thinking (the meaning machine in your mind)

Emotions & Feelings (your internal salience signals)

Together, these explain the essential four elements involved in influencing and shaping behavior over time.

If you believe there’s a missing, irreducible fifth element—we have a challenge for you. 👇

🧪 UBM’s Built-In Toolset:

P.A.R.R. MethodologyMirrors the scientific method—it’s a process-driven feedback loop to build habits and skills intentionally that leverages your innate, human capacities of choice, intention and reflection. Plan → Act → Record → Reassess(Used in 4-week cycles. 85% = gold standard.) thehabitfactor.com/templates

“No Fifth Element” Challenge (PRIZE MONEY) The model is falsifiable. Be the first to disprove its elemental claim (non-emergent, irreducible, causally independent), fifth element and win $1,000. Official entry here: https://unifiedbehaviormodel.com

Architect Mode vs. Tenant ModeUBM gives you a choice: live on autopilot… or design your life’s BES on purpose.

Behavioral Literacy = The 4th RReading, wRiting, aRithmetic… and now, BehavioR.A modern education requires the tools to understand and shape behavior in a modern internet, smartphone and AI economy

Tracking as a SuperpowerBehavior tracking isn’t just data—it strengthens focus, builds awareness, affirms your intention—a lot of people say “things”—tracking proves it. Behavior/Habit tracking literally trains your brain (aMCC, anyone?).

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” —Marcel Proust

📥 [Download the Whitepaper]🎧 [Listen to THIS Episode ☝️]

UBM is the map. The model. The compass.

It’s time to raise the standard for behavioral literacy—together.
 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit habits2goals.substack.com/subscribe

Unified Behavior Model (UBM) Meets NPR-Like Hosts

“What is the sound of one hand clapping?”— Zen Koan

Let’s start with a confession.

Developing the Unified Behavioral Model (UBM) revealed, in many ways, a side quest I didn’t expect: Helping large language models (LLMs) navigate the mental spaghetti we humans lovingly call “logic”—which, if followed faithfully, often leads straight to paradox.

You know—the deep, crunchy stuff:

Body vs. environment

Emotion vs. feeling

Skill vs. habit

Logic vs. illogic

These aren’t just philosophical speed bumps.They’re full-blown conceptual cul-de-sacs.Every time the system—human or machine—hits one, it either freezes or splinters into a dozen confident-but-confused directions.

What Is Abstract Thought, Anyway?

Get it? 

To “draw away”

It’s not about sounding smart or solving puzzles.

Frankly, it’s your one real edge over AI—for now.

It’s about seeing things and thinking differently, especially when the pieces don’t fit.

It’s Picasso and Pollock pulling apart realism.

It’s Einstein “riding a beam of light”.

It’s Lao Tzu explaining how “The soft and the weak overcome the hard and the strong.”

Abstract thinking is cognitive flexibility —it’s a different lens to process, beyond logic.

It’s the ability to zoom out and remove the frame.

To hold logic and contradiction in the same hand, without blowing a fuse.

So, we deliberately choose to go back to FUNDAMENTALS.

Not to simplify, but to clarify.

Not to dumb down, but to dissolve—to draw away from false binaries.

Because here’s the thing about dichotomies: Most aren’t real.

They’re often tradition wrapped in Latin, handed down like sacred scrolls, passed around in conference halls and research papers.

They survive not because they’re accurate, but because they’re familiar.

“If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.” ~Einstein

And that’s how the Unified Behavioral Model emerged: Not from divine inspiration, but moderate exasperation.

Not from clarity, but from watching both brilliant humans and state-of-the-art LLMs get trapped in mental corners built by… You guessed it: LOGIC.

Behaviorally speaking:

Is the environment separate from the body?Not really. Both are environmental stimulants.If a headache doesn’t change your mood and behavior, just like an idiot screaming at a baseball game, let me know.

Are emotions and feelings different?Functionally perhaps? Not elementally. Both relay information.They’re conduits—waves influencing your Behavior Echo-System.

What about habits and skills?Turns out, they’re more alike than different. Both are behaviors shaped through repetition, refined over time until they become automatic. Intentional or not, they’re built the same way.

How do we reconcile logic and illogic?Reconcile? Even the most “logical” among us do spectacularly irrational things—because we’re driven by meaning, by narrative, by the stories we tell ourselves.Logic and illogic aren’t separate. They’re co-pilots.

So if you want to teach a machine how behavior works, we first have to ‘draw away’ the various dichotomies logic has constructed.

And once those dissolve?

The behavior model doesn’t need to be built.

It simply... emerges.

Google: “Why doesn’t a unified behavior model exist?”

The answer begins with complexity.

Complexity created by distinctions (above) that are both very important AND fundamentally (behaviorally speaking), not so important.

Like jiggling the old TV antenna for the hundredth time, and suddenly the picture locks in—clear as day, as though it was never scrambled at all.

Turns out, it —A UNIFIED BEHAVIOR MODEL—does exist. ☝️

It just had to be excavated from under layers of distinctions, logic, and dichotomies.

Logic is linear.

Behavior, like the human experience, is abstract.

This is elemental behavioral literacy. This is the Unified Behavioral Model (UBM)

We didn’t invent it—we excavated it.

It was buried.

Habits 2 Goals Premium by Martin Grunburg is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

“What is your face before your parents were born?” — Zen Koan

Because while machines crunch data, humans connect dots.

While models can simulate logic, you can sit with uncertainty.

When you can envision a bigger picture, the frames dissolve.

“Reflection” (Man Sitting) M. Grunburg 1987

Elemental behavioral science shouldn't be reserved for labs and lectures. We teach adolescents the ABCs and 123s —elemental math and grammar. We can, and should, teach elemental behavior. Maybe abstract thinking will come along for the ride.

“Experience and knowledge don’t arrive with labels, silos, or departments—we create those. Sometimes those distinctions are incredibly useful (like language itself). And sometimes—also like language—they make problem-solving harder than it needs to be.”

🚨 #TrueStory: Habit Tracking News Breakthrough!Read what the new science reveals about the unmistakable power of habit tracking in the UBM White paper.

Grab your free white paper (see Section 7.0) —> Just one week ‘old’ and 200+ downloads already, https://zenodo.org/records/15844153P.S. Reminder: The Unified Behavioral Model™ (UBM) is the first behavioral model to be both falsifiable and unified—meeting the scientific gold standard of Ph.D.-level rigor.

Everyone (not just academics) is invited to download the paper and explore the “No Fifth Element” Challenge—with a $1,000 prize on the line.

Grab your free white paper (see Section 7.0) —> Just one week ‘old’ and 200+ downloads already, https://zenodo.org/records/15844153

📄 Grab the free habit tracking template: thehabitfactor.com/templates

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The Trilogy: WARNING! DO NOT READ THESE BOOKS!!!

The Habit Factor®: Habit alignment, momentum and daily wins!

The Pressure Paradox™: Productivity, Performance & Peace of Mind.

EVERYTHING: The stories you tell yourself heavily influence ‘everything.’
 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit habits2goals.substack.com/subscribe

The Art of Abstract Thought: Your Human Edge in an AI World

“You are not a rodent.”

Revisiting a 2021 Habits Habit Interview by Brian Conroy – Through the Lens of AI and the Scientific Method

“Behavioral science may finally be catching up.”

Catching up to what?

To a simple and powerful truth:

P.A.R.R. (Plan, Act, Record, Reassess) mirrors the scientific method.

When it comes to building habits intentionally, it’s a far superior framework than the overhyped “habit loop.”

🐭 The habit loop? Developed by studying rodents in a maze.

Yet humans can choose their habits.Plan (intend) their habits.And reflect upon their efforts.

Rodents cannot.

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In this episode, we tap into Google’s Notebook LM and upload a 2021 interview I did with Brian Conroy (The Habits Habit podcast). It’s now available as a rich, AI-hosted breakdown—produced like a mini-NPR segment.

Why revisit it now?

Because:

The interview explores how P.A.R.R. is the true human-centric alternative to cue–routine–reward.

It highlights the 15+ year journey behind The Habit Factor®.

It covers why habit ≠ skill… yet they are fraternal twins.

It breaks down the limitations of SMART goals (to-do lists and “next steps”) versus the power of tracking core, related behaviors—habits!

It explains how your character (habitus) is the sum of your habits—past, present, and future.

How P.A.R.R. is the only habit-building framework that not only mirrors the scientific method, but is intentionally designed to cultivate habit strength and automaticity.

P.A.R.R. = The Scientific Method for Behavior Change and Habit Development

Plan = Observe, Question, & Hypothesis

Act = Experiment

Record = Gather Data

Reassess = Analysis & Adjustment

And yes, as the AI hosts correctly observe:You are not a rodent. 🐭

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Tracking isn’t a chore—it’s an asset.It reinforces desire. Affirms intention. Builds discipline. And sharpens focus.

Tired of spinning your wheels?

Listen in. Take notes. Start tracking your behavior.

And always remember:You are both the program and the programmer.

🎧 Listen to the full episode at Habits2Goals.substack.com📥 Or download your free P.A.R.R. tracking template at thehabitfactor.com/templates

“Science is catching up.”And you don’t have to wait.

Start habit tracking today by following P.A.R.R.

And—due to my unexpected trip to Sweden—the UBM white paper release is now likely to land in July.

👊🫵💪🏽🙌🏽🙏~mg

🚨 Tracking News Breakthrough Incoming:What science still doesn’t understand about the true power of habit tracking—…and what we’re about to reveal.

Why Experts Keep Dismissing Habit Tracking—And Why That’s a Massive MistakeThe overlooked key to intentional behavior change is hiding in plain sight.

Subscribe now

A respectful invitation to the academic community:

If you’re part of a university psychology department—or a related behavioral science discipline—we warmly invite you to review, challenge, and explore the Unified Behavior Model™.

The following is a pre-release site for early access and distribution (currently in development): https://unifiedbehaviormodel.comthis is draft--
 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit habits2goals.substack.com/subscribe

Not a Rodent: Interview Recap

“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few.”— Shunryu Suzuki

Why care about a behavior model?

Because human behavior drives everything—goals, habits, change, progress.

There’ve been countless theories, experts, and frameworks.Over a century of behavioral science.

But never something complete, structured, falsifiable, and truly practical.

UBM is the first UNIFIED model of human behavior— a map, model, and compass in one.

Simple. Teachable. Built for literacy, not legacy.

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For over a century, behavioral science has been fragmented—divided by theories, disciplines, and contradictions.

Siloed. Specialized. Locked away in labs and universities.

UBM changes that.

Developed over two decades—and built from the fringe—UBM has been validated through real-world application and accelerated by AI. Large language models have compared, contrasted, and stress-tested UBM against dozens of frameworks.

The result?

UBM transforms behavioral complexity into CLARITY—finally offering a self-evident, falsifiable, teachable, and practical model of human behavior—just in time.

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.”— Nelson Mandela

The Habits 2 Goals podcast is hitting pause for a short stretch.

I’m stepping away to complete something that, by all “expert” logic, should not exist:

The Unified Behavior Model™ (UBM).

According to Google—and decades of academic consensus—this shouldn’t be possible.

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Why isn't there a unified behavior model?

Not just one theory here, or another framework there—but a truly, elemental model of behavior that encompasses the entire behavioral field.

We have models for atoms.

For ecosystems.

For economies, solar systems—even gravity.

But not for behavior?

Not one that is falsifiable, teachable, testable, and comprehensive.

Why?

Because human behavior has long been treated as too complex, too contextual, or too philosophically slippery to model with rigor.

So we settled for silos. Dozens of disciplines, each mapping fragments of the behavioral terrain—but never the whole.

UBM has changed that.

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UBM—the Unified Behavioral Model™—brings together complexity and clarity. 

It reflects the dynamic nature of human behavior, while offering the simplicity of a model that can be understood, taught, and applied.

UBM won’t tell you why Jill never called Johnny back.But it will help both Johnny and Jill understand the full behavioral field from which that decision emerged.

This is what the white paper reveals:

A behavioral model that doesn’t decode every mystery of human behavior— but instead reveals the complete system in which those mysteries arise.

Former efforts revealed remarkable behavioral insights.

Yet none delivered a unified, practical, falsifiable model of behavior.

UBM is behavioral literacy for the 21st century. It’s the missing operating system for anyone who works with people—and it changes how we understand motivation, decision-making, and change itself.

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Side note: Please consider how crazy I’d have to be to announce this—if it weren’t scientifically grounded.

Gravity-like in structure.Rooted in impenetrable truth.

For the fifth time:UBM is structurally falsifiable.(At this point, I’m hopeful you’re looking it up—just like I did, when I was first told UBM is precisely that.)

It works.It’s testable.Teachable.Trackable.And most importantly? 

Simple.

“Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”—Leonardo da Vinci

In a chaotic, smartphone-saturated world—where children face rising rates of depression, anxiety, and self-harm— even a basic understanding of behavior can be a game-changer.

Elemental behavioral literacy for a disoriented age.

No model or map offers guarantees.

Yet we use maps every day—because they’re useful.

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True to its name, UBM draws from over 30 distinct scientific disciplines—from ecology to education, psychology to design, systems theory, neuroscience, and philosophy.

The breakthrough wasn’t in specializing further— but in synthesizing broadly.

All truth passes through three stages:First, it is ridiculed.Second, it is violently opposed.Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.~ Arthur Schopenhauer

Dramatic, I know.

Back soon(ish) with the final release.

Until then—stay tuned.~mg

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A respectful invitation to the academic community:

If you’re part of a university psychology department—or a related behavioral science discipline—we warmly invite you to review, challenge, and explore the Unified Behavior Model™.

The following is a pre-release site for early access and distribution (currently in development): https://unifiedbehaviormodel.com

Keep on trackin’ ✅

~mg

📄 Grab the free habit tracking template: thehabitfactor.com/templates
 

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit habits2goals.substack.com/subscribe

Modeling the Impossible

Be among the first to get your hands on the Unified Behavior Model™ white paper.

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"Fear is both instinctive and learned—wired for survival, but shaped by experience and environment."

Is fear learned or hardwired?

Yes. It’s both.

Fear is instinctual—wired into our survival.

It’s also learned—shaped by experience, memory, and environment.

A seasoned coach posted after reading a neuroscience study:

“Is fear learned or ingrained?”

I couldn’t help but reply:

“Coach… it’s BOTH!”

And that opens the door for this convo 👇

If fear is innate and trained,

Why do we treat skills and habits like they’re either/or?

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Habits vs. Skills? Same Blueprint.

“Bad habits happen on their own; Good habits happen when planned.”

Intentional habits grow like skills—through the same four levels of learning.

1. Unconscious IncompetenceYou don’t even know you suck. (Yet.)

2. Conscious IncompetenceYou do know—and it stings. But you keep showing up.

3. Conscious CompetenceYou’ve got it, but it takes mental effort. Progress.

4. Unconscious CompetenceIt’s automatic. Habit-like. Reflexive. Feels like instinct.

The Viral “Baseball Dad” Moment

Baby in left arm. Beer in his right hand.

Outfielder tosses ball into the stands.

He lets go of the baby…

Not the beer.

Snags the ball barehanded with his left hand.

Catches the baby with his left arm on the way down.

Barely spills his beer.

Instinct-like? You bet.

Skill? 100% Forged via the habit of laying the game.

He didn’t hesitate.

Most people call that instinct.

But really? It was years of trained reflexes, built through intentional practice.

Without that practice? He might’ve flinched. Frozen.

Fear might’ve even jeopardized the baby.

Instead—Unconscious Competence.Relaxed. Confident. Focused.

Preparedness displaces panic.Practice overrides pressure.

That’s the real lesson: Decades of muscle memory—Intentional reps, delivering in an instant.

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The P-A-R-R Cycle

Behavior change isn't magic—it’s a method.

And, it doesn’t come via “HABIT LOOPS”

It comes from intentional planning, practice and refinement.

Plan → Target Days + Minimum Success CriteriaAct → Show up. Run the play.Record → 1 = Win, 0 = Miss (comments optional but powerful)Reassess → After 4 weeks: 85%+? Level up.

This is human-centered behavior change.Rooted in practice.

Beyond Either/Or Thinking

Habits aren’t just loops.Skills aren’t just talent.

Each can be learned, forged behaviors, crafted with intention.

Over to you:When did instinct kick in?When did practice pay off? 
 

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Instinct-Like

"Notice all the B.S. stories you tell yourself about EVERYTHING. Then, run them through the H.E.R.O.'s checklist."

Your internal monologue is very active!

Sometimes it's helpful, and other times, not so much.

This internal chatter provides stories about EVERYTHING, from your career to your potential. You even have stories about your spouse, friends, etc.

You also have stories about your goals, the ones you choose to pursue or not.

These stories establish boundaries. They setup walls that become impenetrable until you notice them first.

The more aware you can become of your internal dialogue the easier it is for you to delete, edit and rewrite the stories.

The H.E.R.O.'s narrative is a tool – a checklist – to use as a filter to determine if your stories are harmful.

Learn about the importance of the HERO's narrative and how you can put it to work right away!

Enjoy the show!

Visit https://thehabitfactor.com/templates to learn more or Google P.A.R.R. and The Habit Factor.

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Discover EVERYTHING is a F*cking STORY here: https://everythingastory.com

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The HERO's Narrative

Lyt når som helst, hvor som helst

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