Consider This from NPR

Episode: Tips to Set Yourself Up for Success in 2026
Date: January 1, 2026
Host: Scott Detrow (with Life Kit host Marielle Sagada and contributor voices)

Episode Overview

This New Year’s episode of Consider This centers on practical, expert-driven tips to help set listeners up for a successful 2026. Moving beyond the traditional (and often daunting) New Year’s resolutions, the discussion brings in advice from NPR’s Life Kit podcast, covering daily habits, financial well-being, relationships, and supporting loved ones through tough times. The aim is to foster self-care, connection, and sustainable progress for the year ahead.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Rethinking New Year’s Resolutions

• Emily Elzane, speaking with producer Michael Levitt, shares skepticism about resolutions:
  • "I just think they’re kind of overrated. It’s a lot of pressure because you talk yourself up to these…lofty goals and a lot of the times they don’t end up coming true. And then you’re really disappointed…People make themselves feel really bad when they don’t achieve the resolution." (01:02)
• Host Scott Detrow reflects that many people feel similarly, leading into a discussion about forming practical, daily habits instead.

2. Movement and Managing Phone Usage (“Surf the Urge to Scroll”)

• Marielle Sagada introduces “urge surfing”—a method to resist the impulse to check your phone:
  • Clinical psychologist Diana Hill describes urge surfing:
    • "The goal with Urge Surfing is to learn how to get on the board of the Urge, ride it, notice that it increases over time and stay on it without giving in…paying attention to the sensation in your body…and then noticing it come back down again without acting." (04:24)
  • Sagada suggests pairing urge surfing with physical movement: “This is a perfect opportunity to get up from your chair or to stretch or to do some jumping jacks, do some calf raises, dance around your living room…” (04:44)
  • Scott Detrow notes the challenge of phone overuse: “Even then I’m thinking about it…It’s still so hard to not do. So that’s a useful way to think about it.” (05:05)
• Practical Tip: Use app blockers (as Marielle does before bed) to reduce digital temptations in key moments. (05:18)

3. Financial Health: Managing Debt and Investment Fees

• Credit Card Hardship Programs:
  • Yaneli Espinal, financial educator, shares:
    • "If the payment due date is coming up and you don’t have the money, pick up the phone and call the phone number on the back of your credit card. If you don’t call them and tell them, they’re going to think that you’re trying to not pay…and that’s when it takes a really bad hit to your credit score." (06:18)
  • Many listeners (including Scott) are surprised by this practical option for temporary relief.
• Investment Fees:
  • Sagada advises: “A 1% fee might sound low, but it can add up over time…Instead you want to look for funds that have fees that are more like 0.05% or even zero, and that’ll be something like an index fund or a passively managed ETF.” (06:37)

4. Building and Nurturing Community: The Community Dinner

• Samin Nosrat, chef and author, advocates for ritualizing social connection:
  • Tips:
    • Pick a recurring day and location (e.g., first Friday of every month)
    • Don’t stress about fancy meals; focus on consistency
    • Make the ritual “holy”—not religious, but sacred:
      • “By making it a regular effort and ritualizing it…that’s probably step one of making it holy. There’s community buy-in.” (08:24, Emily Elzane)
  • Sagada reflects on her own community dinner: “I now have a community dinner that’s the first Friday of every month…It’s one of the things I look forward to the most.” (08:34)
• Scott Detrow summarizes the value: “That circular let’s get together, let’s get together…we’ve been talking about this for six months…it hasn’t happened…so just make it happen. Set a schedule.” (08:44–08:55)

5. Supporting Friends with Serious Illness

• Sagada discusses how to be present for friends facing serious health issues:
  • Deborah Jarvis, chaplain and cancer survivor, recommends asking:
    • “I would say something kind of general and innocuous like, ‘Hey, so where are you with all this today?’ And then just wait…and then the real answer might come out.” (09:49)
  • The key is not to try to fix things, but to genuinely listen and offer consistent presence.
  • Sagada shares her experience: “When they were in the neighborhood, they would say, Hey, can I bring you a smoothie? Hey, can I get you lunch? …That meant a lot to me.” (10:17)
• Scott Detrow highlights: “A specific, immediate gesture.” (11:04)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I just think [resolutions] are kind of overrated…a lot of the times they don’t end up coming true. And then you’re really disappointed.”
  — Emily Elzane (01:02)

• “The goal with Urge Surfing is to learn how to get on the board of the Urge, ride it, notice that it increases over time and stay on it without giving in…”
  — Diana Hill (04:24)

• “If you don’t call them and tell them, they’re going to think that you’re trying to not pay…”
  — Yaneli Espinal (06:18)

• “By making it a regular effort and ritualizing it, that’s probably step one of making it holy. There’s community buy-in.”
  — Emily Elzane (08:24)

• “I now have a community dinner that’s the first Friday of every month…It’s one of the things I look forward to the most.”
  — Marielle Sagada (08:34)

• “A lot of people feel like we need to make it all better for someone going through illness. You don’t. Just listen.”
  — Summarized from Marielle Sagada and Deborah Jarvis (09:14–09:49)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:35 — Framing the New Year's resolutions dilemma
• 01:10 — Emily Elzane’s take on the pressure of resolutions
• 03:26–05:18 — “Surf the Urge to Scroll” (movement, phone use, urge surfing)
• 05:37–06:37 — Credit card forbearance and hardship plans
• 06:37–07:12 — Minimizing investment fees
• 07:28–08:46 — Building a “holy” community dinner
• 08:56–10:10 — Supporting friends with serious illness: what to say and do
• 10:17–11:07 — Practical examples and conclusion

Tone & Closing Thoughts

The episode is warm, conversational, and focused on taking small, meaningful steps rather than grand, fleeting resolutions. Listeners are encouraged to show themselves and others compassion, prioritize daily habits, and invest in relationships and community—essentials for success well beyond 2026.

Happy New Year from NPR’s Consider This—may these tips make this a healthy, fulfilling year for you.