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“Bad habits are like a comfortable bed—easy to get into, but hard to get out of.” ~Jewish Proverb
Intention, Data, and the Ingredients for Lasting Habit Development
We love science. We trust scientists.
Why?
Because they use data.
They run experiments. They form hypotheses and make plans. They test, track, and refine.
Here’s the question most people never ask:
If you love science so much, where’s your behavioral data?
Where’s the record of your actions?
Where’s the feedback loop driving your growth?
That’s what this episode is about.
Repetition without intention tends to breed bad habits.
That’s where most habit models fall short.
The Habit Loop is descriptive, not prescriptive: it explains what happens after a habit forms, but not how to build one deliberately.
That’s where P.A.R.R.—Plan, Act, Record, Reassess—comes in: a proven, habit‑building system aligned with the scientific method itself.
Plan – Form your hypothesis: the habit, your MSC (Minimum Success Criteria), and target days.
Act – Run the experiment: do the behavior as planned.
Record – Track your results using 1s and 0s, and jot down notes.
Reassess – Analyze your results: targets vs. actuals.
If you’re 85% or better, raise the bar for the next four-week tracking period.
If not, revise and stay consistent.
That’s how you develop habit strength and automaticity.
Unfortunately, the famed “Habit Loop” — cue, routine, reward — is not the answer.
Habit and Skill Development Require 3 Ingredients:
There are three fundamental requirements to build a good habit or skill:
Knowledge: You need to know what to do and why it matters.
Capacity (Not skill): The late, great Stephen Covey taught that habit formation requires knowledge, skill, and desire—understandably so. However, upon closer examination, a key distinction emerges:
Both intentional habits and skills, once fully formed, reside in the same part of the brain—the limbic structure.
When something becomes automatic, it’s no longer a “skill in development”—it’s a capacity expressed repeatedly. That’s why skill cannot be a prerequisite for habit formation. It’s basic capacity that matters. Not skill.Desire: The most important. With genuine desire, knowledge, and capacity, will be found—or created.
Habits 2 Goals, The Habit Factor® Podcast, Core requirements for habit development. Knowledge, Capacity (not skill) & Desire.
Reminder: Tracking is not your enemy.
Tracking is how you reaffirm intention and keep yourself honest.
Tracking is also how you align with what matters and gather essential data.
You don’t need to track everything forever.
The idea is to track the right behaviors (habit alignment), long enough for them to become automatic—to build habit strength.
That’s what P.A.R.R. does. 🙌🏼
“It’s tough to improve what you aren’t tracking. And it’s even tougher to track what you haven’t planned.”
If scientists gather data to uncover the secrets of the universe, maybe you should consider the same to uncover the secrets of your own behavior.
P.A.R.R. is your answer.
Your behavior is the question. (Say that again)
Start tracking. Start testing.
Start building the habits aligned with your goals and ideals.
The final twist (one more time ; ) Habits do NOT live in a vacuum.
Habits and skills exist within a larger system—your Behavior Echo-System™.
Let’s be clear—very CLEAR: Habits are not systems. And systems are not habits.
Confusing the two muddles the mechanics of behavior change.
There’s an unnamed author who continues to insist that habits are systems.
His audience is so confused, they run around saying and writing, “Systems are better than goals.”
Oy!
Here’s the truth: Systems are designed to produce an OUTPUT.
That output is often the goal or behavior.
The system is what forges the behavior and/or habit.
When it comes to human behavior, habits operate within a larger behavioral operating system—a Behavior Echo-System™. (Not ecosystem—echo as in reverberation.)
Your behavior is shaped by two powerful forces: your ENVIRONMENT and your THINKING—the stories you tell yourself.
This is why the other two books exist. 👇
This is why the Behavior Echo-System™—a pioneering model in its category—serves not only as a diagnostic tool but also as a prescriptive guide for fostering goal-directed behavior.
Keep on trackin’ ✅
~mg
📄 Grab the free habit tracking template: thehabitfactor.com/templates
Don’t Die with Your Music Still In You. » LAST CALL!
The Trilogy:
The Habit Factor®: Daily wins for long-term goal momentum.
The Pressure Paradox™: Productivity, Performance & Peace of Mind.
EVERYTHING: The stories you tell yourself heavily influence your behavior.
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GOOD HABITS HAPPEN WHEN PLANNED;
BAD HABITS HAPPEN ON THEIR OWN.
🙌 That’s right! You can get The Habit Factor® FREE with your audible trial! https://audibletrial.com/habits2goals
New listeners, grab your free habits 2 goals tracking template here: https://thehabitfactor.com/templates
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*Awarded: “Finalist: Self-help, Motivation”* International Book Awards: EVERYTHING is a F*cking STORY.
To learn more about P.A.R.R., just Google “P.A.R.R. and The Habit Factor.”
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