Jon bought a one-inch-thick surfboard and spent three years unable to ride it.
1. How To Hobby Podcast episode 178, “The Goals,” is built around 2026 goal-setting and a fresh start in Q1.
2. Jon Power hosts and Shawnee Bennett joins from the How To Hobby Lounge, where Shawnee’s examples and Jon’s hobby stories drive the episode’s advice.
3. The episode asks what goals are for and argues that goals give direction, but systems, habits, and follow-through create results.
4. Jon and Shawnee define goals as intentional outcomes and explain why missed goals can feel personal because they connect to identity and optimism.
5. They distinguish outcome goals such as losing pounds, getting promoted, and saving money from process goals such as working out three times a week or applying to two jobs.
6. They contrast short-term goals measured in days or weeks with long-term goals measured in months or years.
7. They describe identity-based goals like “I’m someone who trains consistently” and “I’m a person who finishes what I start.”
8. They identify common reasons goals fail, including goals that are disconnected from daily life, lack feedback loops, and have invisible progress.
9. They say goals can also fail when they conflict with a person’s energy or season of life.
10. They recommend starting smaller than expected, tying goals to routines, tracking the right thing, planning for failure in advance, and using identity language.
11. Jon says success is not hitting every milestone perfectly and is instead about returning after a setback without quitting.
12. Shawnee says outcome goals are better as long-term goals because external factors can make short deadlines unrealistic.
13. Jon gives a leadership example from a company restructuring and says he is waiting for an opening that may become available.
14. Shawnee breaks that goal into smaller actions like taking leadership classes and volunteering for projects.
15. Jon says a 2022 house purchase showed how interest rates and market changes can move faster than a person can control.
16. The episode also uses a surfboard example from Jon’s 2008 move to California, where he bought a board that was too advanced and spent years learning the hard way.
17. Jon and Shawnee keep the tone conversational and practical, with repeated back-and-forth examples from work, cycling, surfing, and exercise.
18. The format mixes goal theory with personal stories, so the episode feels like two hosts testing ideas against real life.
19. People rebuilding routines in 2026 and wanting concrete goal tactics will get the most from this episode.
20. Listeners looking for a pure motivational pep talk or a quick answer may skip it.
