Adrienne Bankert, Host of NewsNation’s Morning In America, Talks About Kindness and Goal Setting

By Peter Page Peter Page has been verified by Muck Rack's editorial team
Published on July 6, 2022

Adrienne Bankert doesn’t stop setting, and achieving, goals. She has a successful career in broadcast journalism, formerly as a host on GMA Weekend and now as anchor of Morning in Americaa national morning show on NewsNation.

She recently added author to her list of successes with publication of her first book, Your Hidden Superpower: The Kindness That Makes You Unbeatable at Work and Connects You with Anyone.

Grit Daily: Having the job of anchoring a national morning show is a significant achievement. What challenges did you come across in your journey to solo anchoring a national morning show?

Adrienne Bankert: My goodness … in some cases, to discover what was a personality trait or a weakness.  I think something we do is think that “this” whatever it is something we are versus something we have become. I had to overcome challenges of changing my own habits! I am a morning person but working in AM news you end up waking up in the middle of the night! ( 1-2 am) 

Grit Daily: TV has the image of a cutthroat business, but you wrote a book, Your Hidden Superpower: The Kindness That Makes You Unbeatable at Work and Connects You with Anyone. What is your message in that book?

Adrienne Bankert: Any industry can be hard to navigate. The roadmap I have found is kindness. (not in a, “just be nice,” or “sappy” way either.) You have to first be kind to yourself –  because no one will treat you better than you treat yourself. I hope that makes sense. If you think lowly of yourself, if you are constantly beating yourself up – no one will. Kindness means you value your time and believe you are worthy of respect. Know yourself – the biggest confidence booster is being aware of your strengths, weaknesses, boundaries, unique personality and purpose. Being your most assured self is the biggest gift to the world because that eliminates the need to compete. You know who you are – and you don’t try too hard. 

Grit Daily: You attribute goal setting to much of your success! What are some of your goal setting strategies?

Adrienne Bankert: Goal setting in a non sexy approach involves a lot of to do lists. Scheduling regular time for working on the goal and being rather laser focused & undistracted. My biggest success has been when I’m very very focused, and quite honestly living, eating & breathing the goals in mind. For many years it was all about TV. Then TV and booking public speaking, then add philanthropic goals, mentoring and getting a book published. But it’s a bit of eating your veggies. You end up moving anything that doesn’t have to do with your goal aside, whether than means no going out to the bar with friends or skipping the movie, or cutting back on social media. I must admit how much sacrifice is involved, where I had to put a lot of things on the back burner to stay on point. I think it was 70 percent goal setting, 30% personal life when I accomplished these tangible goals. Right now I would say my personal life is the largest percentage ever because my goals are more targeted to personal development goals.

Grit Daily: How does visualization apply to setting and pursuing goals?

Adrienne Bankert: I always say you can’t hit a target you can’t see. Vision is what changes a dream into a goal. I have used vision boards for years, but more recently I had a day dream session with a friend. It was highly emotional. My advice, take an hour and play a game. Either go back and forth in person, or send replies to a persons daydream, by adding personal details to create a mental map or picture of what you want your next job to be like, your next home, or relationship to be like. Speak like you’re writing your own script about your life in the near future.

I just had a wonderful chat with someone who met the love of their life by writing a letter to their dream soulmate, being very detailed about who that person is. A year later they met a manager who fulfilled everything but one of the traits she described in that letter. I think that we become skeptical the older we get if we aren’t careful; but if we imagine what we want like we did as a kid, it’s a lot more likely to happen.

Grit Daily: We’re about halfway through 2022. Do you recommend checking progress midyear, or is that simply arbitrary and you recommend something else?

Adrienne Bankert: I would check per quarter. Right now I’m revisiting  a goal I didn’t complete in time. So it’s a time of regrouping. Have an accountability buddy, someone who can help remind you throughout the year. Ask a friend or mentor to be your partner in getting the task done.

Grit Daily: What have I not asked about do you want to add?

Adrienne Bankert: Don’t think it’s too late for a goal. I have learned that like true love, true fulfillment takes time to develop and nurture. Those who attain it discover it takes years, much longer than they first anticipated, to reach. Goals are all stepping stones to bring us, sometimes over a much longer time, to becoming not just successful, but to an unforgettable legacy. If I’m impatient, I’ll hit a bunch of goals. If I aim for greatness, I might take longer, but I’m sure to help far more people and in doing so, make history. 

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By Peter Page Peter Page has been verified by Muck Rack's editorial team

Journalist verified by Muck Rack verified

Peter Page is the Contributions Editor at Grit Daily. Formerly at Entrepreneur.com, he began his journalism career as a newspaper reporter long before print journalism had even heard of the internet, much less realized it would demolish the industry. The years he worked a police reporter are a big influence on his world view to this day. Page has some degree of expertise in environmental policy, the energy economy, ecosystem dynamics, the anthropology of urban gangs, the workings of civil and criminal courts, politics, the machinations of government, and the art of crystallizing thought in writing.

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