Interview with Emmy Award-winner Adrienne Bankert, host of ‘Morning in America’

I’m so excited that Adrienne Bankert is here! She is a two-time Emmy winner for her work on Good Morning America, who has also covered national stories as an ABC News anchor. She currently co-hosts NewsNation’s Morning in America and comes for an interview today.

Join us as we talk about her passion for news coverage, her favorite news moment, and writing the book Your Hidden Superpower to spotlight how kindness can propel one’s career and strengthen connections. I love what she says below about maintaining a positive mindset.

Disclosure: Get ready for inspiration in this sponsored interview with a passionate woman journalist and author. As an Amazon Affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases through links in this post.

Interview with Adrienne Bankert

She has covered stories around the world and interviewed countless celebrities, including Lady Gaga and Viola Davis. Let’s get to the interview! Welcome, Adrienne.

What fuels your interest in covering the news?

I know my purpose: a bridge. It’s about inspiring people and provoking them to new ways of thinking—even when much of the news of the day is dark.

What has been your favorite news moment you have covered? Let’s share some good news!

The 2019 Women’s World Cup in France. It was so exhilarating to be in another country and see the determination, patriotism and pride of the USA!

What has been your favorite celebrity interview, and why?

I don’t have just one. But among my favorites would be chatting with the great Kobe Bryant about him finding his true love… Not basketball, but writing! And talking with Brad Pitt about mortality and the search for meaning (living with purpose).

Also, Dwayne Johnson and Ryan Reynolds, who both truly showed genuine interest in my dreams and my book. They were so kind and generous to ask me about myself in our downtime.

Wonderful! I love how confidently you speak in front of the camera. Have you always felt this sense of confidence when filming?

I believe it has been a gift—a gift given to me from birth that people all around me nurtured. Others saw that gift and helped me. It makes no sense; my mom was pretty shy, but she nurtured all of us to be confident in front of people.

My grandfather entered me in a pageant, and I had a teacher who entered me in speech contests. Because of the training, it was meant to be.

More with Morning in America’s Adrienne Bankert

Let’s pivot a bit. Can you share with us the epiphany you had about the power of energy?

I’ve had to be reminded of this over and over again! It’s about not focusing on the gloominess.

Just stop the thoughts that are yucky, the thoughts that make you feel like a failure or loser, and ACT the way you want to be. It’s almost like you’re pretending, but trust me, it’s a trigger. Just like you can be negatively triggered, you can also be positively triggered.

The “aha moment” comes when you think about how you would act if everything was working out. Imagine what that would look like. Say this: “I’m the happiest girl in the world! Everything is working out for me! I’m having the best day ever!”

And keep saying it!

How do you apply that positive mindset to everyday life, and what results are you seeing?

When I do the above, I literally see the world differently. And people come out of the woodwork to help me, work with me, assist me. I have this special power to overcome any negativity that arises.

The world is crazy, and people will do things that you don’t expect. But when I do the above and remain consistent with it, I can break the power of feeling like “What’s the point?” when it seems like all the hard work is in vain.

Those feelings come to me like they come to everyone. Life gets stinking hard. But we can face this world confidently when we continue to trigger ourselves that everything is working out for us.

I love this frame of mind! You carry it through to Your Hidden Superpower, a book about kindness. What message do you want to share in this read?

Kindness is the most authentic demonstration of the real you—your best self. As your kindness is tested, your identity will be tested. When self-doubt creeps in, get back to kindness, and you’ll return to that assured confidence.

If everyone was at least a little kinder to one another, how might the world be better?

We would fulfill our destiny, which is what we all not-so-secretly want—or forsake, in lieu of convention, convenience, or a desire for control.

What do you wish more people knew about kindness?

That just because you act unkindly doesn’t mean you are doomed to be that way. Anyone can be kind; it’s a muscle that can be developed, just like anyone can work out and get in better shape.

A conversation with Adrienne Bankert cont’d.

What inspired you to write the book?

My mentor encouraged me to, saying I had a different perspective on kindness, so I wrote it! By listening to him, I offered a lot of answers to others that I needed myself.

It was inspiring to learn from the process of writing that if I became a channel for helping others find the answer, I would inevitably be so full of answers that I would get the solutions to my own problems.

That’s a big realization. I’m curious, what is in your everyday coping toolkit?

I don’t like the word “coping.” Honestly, to me, that means “survival mode,” which I think has been less effective. I prefer to say “make the adjustment” or “snap back” tool kit because if we have to have a toolkit, it is to repair something or provide a tune-up.

We aren’t broken! We just need a tune-up or to snap back to reality!

Here’s my list:

• Breathing exercises
• Relaxation
• Stretching to get the stress out of my body
• Meditation and prayer in the morning
• Calling on my board of advisors (those closest to me—solid friends when I need an urgent lifeline)
• Taking naps! Everything is better after a nap!
• Celebrating…celebrating life…celebrating others.

Speaking of ‘others,’ who inspires you?

I’m inspired by people who don’t just change behavior but who make a decision to be transformed—people who battle to renew and retrain their thinking so they can write a better happily ever after for themselves and others.

Ah, yes. Where do you see yourself in five years, Adrienne Bankert?

Married with kids! A prolific writer. Still on TV, but getting a lot more done in the writing realm.

Where can we get a copy of Your Hidden Superpower?

Everywhere books are sold… Barnes & Noble, Amazon, etc. The paperback just was released! Ooh, and I love the Audible version. I narrated it, and I added stories that are not in the print version.

Before you go, is there anything else you want to share with us?

Time doesn’t age us—disappointment does. Read that again.

The best thing we can do for our skin, body, soul, and spirit is to stop being disappointed in ourselves and others. Stop having regrets. I know that sounds too hard, and I’ve had to work on it myself a lot!

When one of the saddest things happened to me, I had a friend tell me, ‘Stop looking to the past; look forward. This is a good thing.’ It didn’t feel good! But if we learn things about ourselves we didn’t know, then it’s a good thing.

The past holds nothing for us. There are zero open doors back there. But if we look forward, we can absolutely have a chance for a new promise and a better opportunity. A treasure map can’t go back in time.

Look at life like this: If you are searching for your personal sparkly person, place, or thing, follow the advice of the people who care about you along the path. And follow the well-worn maps of wisdom that people before you have listened to for millennia. Don’t look back!

Follow the arrows that go up! Go for the gold!

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Watch Adrienne on TV’s Morning in America

See Adrienne on Morning in America, weekday mornings on NewsNation starting at 5 am (CST). Find where to watch at www.joinNN.com.

She’s on social media too! Follow Adrienne Bankert on Instagram.

Thank you, Adrienne, for being here to spread good vibes and show how kindness really is a superpower. You uplift us with your spirit — Let’s keep the positivity rolling!

Over to you, amazing readers. How do you incorporate kindness into your daily life? Is there a positive affirmation you use to improve your outlook? Please share below!