Buy Walking VideosKeep Your Goals To Yourself
Remember in yesterday’s post when I said that things always work out better for me if I am my own cheerleader? It turns out that there is science behind the idea of keeping your goals to yourself. This talk from Derek Sivers at the TED conference explains it:
Think of your personal biggest goal. Imagine deciding right now that you’re going to do it. Imagine telling someone that you meet today what you’re going to do. Imagine their congratulations and their high image of you. Doesn’t it feel good to say it out loud? Don’t you feel one step closer already like it’s already becoming part of your identity? Well, bad news. You should have kept your mouth shut, because that good feeling will make you less likely to do it.
That backfiring of every compliment I receive when I lose weight is something that happens to ALL of us. Announcing our goals makes us feel like we’ve actually accomplished them, so from now on, I’m keeping my mouth SHUT!
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October 5th, 2010 at 3:02 pm
I’ve learned the hard way that shutting your mouth up is th best when you are on your way to your goal!
October 12th, 2010 at 5:44 pm
I have always said that as soon as I start telling people what I’m doing, I quit doing it. I’m my own harbinger of doom, haha! Once people start asking you because they’re noticing a difference, it’s hard to keep it to yourself, though.
October 16th, 2010 at 12:45 pm
Hi Laura,
Wow but I’ve recently came to kind of the same conclusion. When I told the world my goals – the pressure increased! I began to feel guilt if I did not achieve a mini-goal and would tend to quit because I was not doing it anyway… feeling guilt and pressure for that too!
I’ve recently just stopped talking about my goals and started to talk about issue of interest, some health related and all of the public pressure is off! I still plan on talking about results when they happen but that is it!
Thanks for pointing out the science!