A common approach to goals is to set them up in mantras, affirmations, todo-lists, journals and vision boards ^[1]. You ooze with excitement as you think of them and write them down. You’ve self-motivated and are anxious to begin enjoying the feeling of accomplished goals.

Now it’s New Years and you are armed with your list of resolutions. First on your list is losing 20lbs by Memorial Day weekend. It’s a clear goal and has a set time, exactly what a good goal should be. You’ve just signed up for the New Year’s sale at the local gym and have now done virtually everything to commit yourself to your goal. You remember reading that sharing your goals brings them to life and you decide to share them with a few people.

So you tell them about how enthusiastic you are about your goal and how great you’re going to look this summer at the beach. Instead of the enthusiasm echoed back to you it is filtered through a cynical mind. Your friend Fat Albert gives you the following excuses about why you will fail to reap success with your goal:

• You’re taking 17 credits this semester; you won’t have time
• You work at a restaurant; you’ll eat too much
• You won’t stick to it; you never do
• Its going to be too cold this winter; you’ll want to stay indoors
• I tried and failed; you’ll settle for being average too

The obvious downside of these comments is that they suck away your motivation. Sure, you may say you are not affected by what other people say and that hearing negative, pessimistic remarks does not affect you. You may not even realize it but being constantly scrutinized will subconsciously weaken the commitments that you made to your goals.

The majority of people will sink when relentlessly facing social bombardment. The few will be fueled by it and work harder in order to prove themselves. Regardless of your immediate reaction you are exposing yourself to other people’s viewpoints and thus at risk for adopting them. If you aren’t adopting the winning mentality than you’re not doing everything you can in your journey of personal development on the road towards success.

So, do not share your goals….
…or at least be very selective with whom you share them with.

Share Your Goals

So far this article concentrates on the downfalls of sharing your goals with pessimists. What if you know people that are really supportive and share your ambitions for self improvement? If you are lucky enough to have these wonderful people in your life than I would definitely suggest taking my warnings into consideration but proceeding regardless. With people you know you can count on for encouragement, trust your instincts and share away.

What are the benefits of sharing goals? Goal sharing can be a win-win situation. Your ambition can be inspirational to someone else and cause them to take on a meaningful purpose and take the prerogative to create change for themselves. By speaking your word you also bring it to life and solidify it, meaning you will be more likely to see it to completion because you know other people have expectations of you. Discussing your goals with others could lead to brainstorming sessions on the best way to achieve them and perhaps get you a partner on your mission.

There are many more wonderful benefits of sharing your goals as long as you are selective with whom you share them with. Now grab a pen and start writing some goals. Btw, good luck!

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