After hitting on a brilliant new life plan, our first instinct is to tell someone, but Derek Sivers says it’s better to keep goals secret. He presents research stretching as far back as the 1920s to show why people who talk about their ambitions may be less likely to achieve them.
About Derek Sivers
Through his new project, MuckWork, Derek Sivers wants to lessen the burdens (and boredom) of creative people. Full bio and more links.
This is surprising research. I’ve always been in the other camp, at least in terms of telling goals to close friends. I don’t usually publish goals to everyone in a big room or on Twitter, but I’m guessing I have at some point in the past.
Thanks for getting me thinking
I’d say that from personal experience that telling others my goals in the past has resulted in others “Sabotaging” my goals so they don’t succeed. Lesson learned and now I don’t usually tell anyone anything at all personal.