{"podcast":{"title":"Office Hours with Arthur Brooks","slug":"office-hours-with-arthur-brooks-7443626","podcast_index_feed_id":7443626,"rss_url":"https://anchor.fm/s/107fc00dc/podcast/rss","website_url":"https://arthurbrooks.com/","image_url":"https://d3t3ozftmdmh3i.cloudfront.net/staging/podcast_uploaded_nologo/44189231/44189231-1754764801223-80431bcc2dada.jpg","author":"Arthur Brooks","episode_count":52,"summary":"Hi Friends, I’m Arthur Brooks, a social scientist, professor at the Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School, columnist at The Free Press. I write, speak, and teach about the science of human happiness, blending neuroscience, behavioral science, philosophy, and religion for insights on how to live better and be happier. Each week on Office Hours, you’ll get a glimpse into the cutting edge research on happiness, and explore how you can use it to improve your life—and share what you learn with those you love. Join me in the movement to build a happier world–starting with you.","last_synced_at":"2026-07-27T22:17:04.549075+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/office-hours-with-arthur-brooks-7443626"},"episode":{"title":"How to Set the Right Goals in Life","slug":"how-to-set-the-right-goals-in-life","published_at":"2026-01-19T12:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/office-hours-with-arthur-brooks-7443626/how-to-set-the-right-goals-in-life","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/office-hours-with-arthur-brooks-7443626","url":"https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/arthurbrooks/episodes/How-to-Set-the-Right-Goals-in-Life-e3din0p","audio_url":"https://traffic.megaphone.fm/APO4591212860.mp3","summary":"Most of us know that we should set goals, but there is a lot of confusion about why they matter and how to choose them well. In this episode of Office Hours, I reflect on the difference between meaning and purpose, and on how the goals we pursue quietly shape the direction of our lives. I talk about why some goals leave us feeling empty even when we achieve them, and what it means to aim our lives toward something that truly matters. My hope is that this episode invites you to pause, think about your goals in life, and consider whether the path you are on is leading you where you want to go. — Brought to you by: • ⁠ David Protein ⁠ —The most effective portable protein on the planet ⁠http://www.davidprotein.com/arthur⁠ — Where to find Arthur Brooks: • Website: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://arthurbrooks.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ • Newsletter: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.arthurbrooks.com/newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ • X: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/arthurbrooks⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ • Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/arthurcbrooks/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ • Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/ArthurBrooks/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ • YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGuyFRjJQFGCKzfHTBvWM6A⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ • LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/arthur-c-brooks/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ • Email: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠officehours@arthurbrooks.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ — Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (05:00) The three components of meaning (08:14) Big goals, and why most of us are not Mother Teresa (09:55) Proxy goals, and how they can lead us to feel more purpose (13:16) Jung’s philosophy on good goals (14:42) An extrinsic motivation (17:20) Intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation (19:14) Goals based in avoidance (21:34) Positional goals (24:33) Foc…","meta_description":"Most of us know that we should set goals, but there is a lot of confusion about why they matter and how to choose them well. In this episode of Office Hou…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":2539,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/office-hours-with-arthur-brooks-7443626/episodes/how-to-set-the-right-goals-in-life/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/office-hours-with-arthur-brooks-7443626/how-to-set-the-right-goals-in-life.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}