Professor Game Podcast – Episode 422

Quests, Self-Talk & Health: Glen Lubbert's Stamina Lab Game of Life
Date: December 8, 2025
Host: Rob Alvarez
Guest: Glen Lubbert, Co-founder & CEO of Stamina Lab

Episode Overview

In this episode, Rob Alvarez sits down with Glen Lubbert of Stamina Lab to explore how game thinking, solution-focused coaching, and self-talk can revolutionize health, wellbeing, and personal growth. The conversation centers on treating behavior change as a game—complete with quests, progress markers, and forgiving restarts. Glen shares how reframing “failure” and leveraging our innate resources leads to more enduring motivation, energy, and positive transformation. The episode is rich with real-life examples, frameworks practitioners can use, and actionable insights drawn from both Glen’s personal journey and Stamina Lab’s behavioral science-backed methods.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Treating Behavior Change as a Game

• Mindset Shift: Glen emphasizes a philosophy of self-experimentation and playfulness, moving away from willpower and shame, towards curiosity and joy.

  • "If you, when you really look at trying to reach your health and well being goals, which we do there as a game, does take away the guilt and shame and brings more joy to the process." (02:01, Glen)

• The Experimenter's Mindset:

  • There is no true “failure”—only feedback and new information for the next attempt.
  • Running a marathon, business, or pursuing health: all are approached as ongoing experiments.

2. Structuring Daily Life as Progressive Quests

• Glen’s Routine:
  • Training for his first marathon has shaped daily habits with clear, game-like progression: preparation, fueling, recovery, and role flexibility at his startup.
  • Morning exercise serves both physical and cognitive problem-solving needs, analogous to prepping for daily challenges in a game. (04:45, Glen)

3. The Power of Kind Self-Talk and the “Magic Words”

• Overcoming Fixed Mindsets:
  • Negative self-talk and shame are major obstacles in behavior change.
• 8 Magic Words / Phrases:
  • Right now, so far, not yet, at least … When appended to a negative belief, these open possibility and creativity.
    • "I always mess things up... so far."
    • "I never get to that next level... right now."
    • "I can't do this... not yet."
  • "Those eight magic words just crack the door open for possibility and allows your brain the ability to be creative and solve the problem." (12:01, Glen)

4. The Value of Clear Goals and Intrinsic Motivation (“Tell the cab driver where to go”)

• The Cab Driver Analogy:
  • Many focus on what they don’t want, but without a clear destination, you can't move forward.
    • "That cab driver says, okay, that's fine, but I can't pull away from the curve until you tell me where you want to go." (15:10, Glen)
• Quests on Stamina Lab:
  • The platform uses quests—mini-games for stress, eating, resilience, self-talk, etc.—always starting with “What do you want instead?”
• Motivation through Meaning:
  • Progress requires linking goals to meaningful, intrinsic outcomes (e.g., health, joy, accomplishment).
    • "Game decisions are built on intrinsic motivation... this story development too, is really intrinsic into the person." (16:45, Glen)

5. How to Spot and Build on Existing Strengths

• Focus on Practical Capacity, Not Root Cause:
  • Traditional approaches fixate on analyzing failures (e.g., why you ate ice cream), but Glen’s method seeks evidence of capacity—what stopped you from eating the whole pint, or from not trying at all?
    • "What kept you from eating the half a pint of ice cream?... That is a skill, it's a capacity that you're already on the path to change." (20:01, Glen)
• The Detective Approach:
  • Look for clues of progress (“you’re already on the path”), no matter how tiny.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Game Mentality and Resilience:

  • "You're not going to hit that top goal... but if you just keep going, you learn from it. Not beating myself up because I didn’t know… being kind to yourself, because every kind of change is inherently challenging." (08:03, Glen)

• On the Value of Failure in Games (and Life):

  • Rob shares:
    • "Even if I know, I’m not going to make it [in a game], I still want to go and push as far as I can, so I can have better information the next time I do the run." (09:04, Rob)

• On Applying Game Structure to Health:

  • "What we can apply to our own lives is that destination. Where do we want to go? And that’s where the quests are that we do..." (15:10, Glen)

• Favorite Game Metaphor:

  • "The point of the game [Tetris] was to keep trying to play the game, to keep it going. And I think that's really for the Game of Life and the game of your health—that's the goal of the game, is to just to keep it going." (29:04, Glen)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Introductions & Stamina Lab’s Mission – 00:00–02:29
• Glen’s Daily Life: Marathon Training as Game Structure – 02:45–04:45
• On Failing, Learning, and Experimenting – 05:22–08:03
• The Importance of Kind Self-Talk & 8 Magic Words – 10:19–12:14
• Quests and the Cab Driver Goal Analogy – 12:39–18:11
• Best Practices: Spotting Existing Capacity – 18:41–22:24
• Book Recommendation: Outlive by Peter Attia – 23:53–26:52
• Favorite Games: Tetris & Five Crowns – 27:01–29:04
• Final Advice & Where to Find Stamina Lab – 29:49–30:50

Actionable Takeaways

• Frame behavior change as a game: Approach challenges with curiosity, iteration, and joy, not shame.
• Use “magic words” to reframe setbacks: Append right now, so far, not yet, at least to negative self-statements.
• Be explicit about your goals: “Tell the cab driver where to go”—know what you want, not just what you want to avoid.
• Link your goals to intrinsic meaning: Ask “What difference will this make for me?” Dig for real motivation.
• Notice and build on existing progress: Even the smallest actions toward change count—find and reinforce them.

Resources & Recommendations

• Book:
  • Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity by Dr. Peter Attia (23:53)
    • Focuses on prevention and the big levers for health, not just optimization minutiae.
• Potential Future Guest:
  • Dr. Deborah Teplo, Glen’s partner at Stamina Lab and expert in solution-focused approaches, competitive athletics, and music (23:03).
• Stamina Lab Website:
  • staminalab.io – Quests, resources, and coaching sessions.

Final Words

Glen’s Core Message:
“You are already on the path to becoming the person you want to be. Be clear about your goal, tell the cab driver where to go, understand what difference it will make for you, and be kind to yourself. Change is hard, but you’re already on the path—look for evidence and keep going.” (29:49, Glen)