Why You Should Never Share Your Goals With Others
Be secretive about goals
You might have come across people who talk a lot about their goals, “I am planning to do this and that”, “I am currently working on that”, or “My goal is to do so and so”; some people even like to share all of their current goals on social media and how they are working to achieve them. But how many people actually achieved those goals when you met them later? You might have even discovered that some of those people were simply all talk but no action. But could there have been a reason behind this? Is there a connection between sharing goals with others and the ability to achieve them? Well, yes. Science says that you should never share your goals with others.
But why should you not share your goals with others?
The answer is simple. To sum it up in one line, when you share your goals with others, you lose the motivation required to actually achieve them. But how exactly does that happen? When you talk about your goals with a lot of confidence, your brain starts secreting the pleasure and reward hormone dopamine and hence, it tricks you into believing that you have already achieved your goals which subsequently reduces the motivation required to achieve them. And while positive feedback from others on your goals can increase the secretion of dopamine and decrease motivation further, even a single negative feedback can discourage you and tempt you into giving up altogether.
However, it can be helpful to share your goals with close friends and people in similar fields who can encourage you, guide you and keep you motivated when you feel like giving up. While the right people can help you grow, the wrong people can discourage you and even turn you away from the path to your goal.
However, ultimately, the choice of sharing your goals remains with you. But, it is important to be careful while doing so.
