Summary

The article advises against sharing one's goals publicly, emphasizing that actions speak louder than words and that true achievement comes from silent dedication and hard work.

Abstract

The article "Stop talking about your goals" suggests that sharing ambitious plans often leads to a lack of follow-through, as it prematurely satisfies the individual's desire for recognition. It posits that real success comes from the discipline of working towards a goal without seeking external validation. The author cites research indicating that people who keep their intentions private are more likely to persist and achieve their objectives compared to those who announce their goals. The article encourages embracing the process of achieving goals quietly and highlights the inspiring nature of those who let their actions and results speak for themselves, likening them to the quiet confidence of a James Bond character.

Opinions

Bragging about goals, especially on New Year's Eve, is not only annoying but also counterproductive, often leading to quick abandonment.
Ambition is common; what sets people apart is the commitment to act on their ambitions without publicizing them.
The article advocates for a "walk the walk" approach, specifically praising those who work diligently without seeking acknowledgment.
Announcing goals can create a false sense of achievement due to social affirmation, which the author refers to as "social reality," potentially hindering actual progress.
The author believes that personal satisfaction and confidence are best cultivated by achieving goals in silence, without the need for external validation.

Stop talking about your goals

If you’re good at something, you tell others. If you’re great, they tell you.

Photo by Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash

There is always the one person who, on New Years’ eve, brags about all the ambitious stuff they are going to do. Going to the gym every day. Building a business. Learning Japanese. Waking up at 5 am. They get so excited about it, it is as if they actually did something. But all they do is annoying everyone else, and throwing the towel within a week.

We all know that person. Or worse, you are that person.

No one cares about what you say you are going to do. And you shouldn’t either. No matter how much you flap your jaw, nothing moves.

Having ambition is not special. Everyone has it.

Whatever your goal is, thousands of others do too.

So instead of bragging to your friends about the 6-pack you’re going to have, try to get a few days, weeks or months under belt first.

“If you want to lose weight, keep your mouth shut.”

— Grandma

Learn to embrace the process of achieving things when nobody is looking. After all, who are you doing this for?

talk the talk vs. walk the walk

Choose between these four types:

Talk the talk, and walk the walk
Talk the talk, and don’t walk the walk
Don’t talk the talk, and don’t walk the walk
Don’t talk the talk, but walk the walk

I think we can agree that the first three are either annoying, pretentious, or just simply sad.

Number 4 however, — those who don’t talk the talk, but walk the walk — they are who inspire us. The James Bonds of the world. The guy who is completely ripped, but doesn’t talk about it. The guy who prefers Omega over Rolex.

Their lifestyle in itself is proof of the rigorous discipline, patients, and hard work.

Speaking before doing is a useless step in the way of actually doing.

Work Hard In Silence and Let Success Make the Noise.

Although writing down your goals can improve your chances of following through, talking about them doesn’t. It decreases your chances.

Peter Gollwitzer and some other researchers at NYU released a paper in 2009 entitled, “When Intentions Go Public: Does Social Reality Widen the Intention-Behavior Gap?”

In the experiments they conducted, they asked a group of people to define a goal they’d like to achieve. For the experiment, they would be given 45 minutes to work on the goal. Here’s the play: half of the group announced their goals to the room, while the other half didn’t.

The results were astounding. The group that didn’t say anything tended to work for the entire 45 minutes, and when asked about their progress, they said they had a lot more work to do until they were done.

The group that announced their goal quit after only 33 minutes on average, and they tended to say they felt much closer to completing the goal.

When you announce your goal to someone and they affirm it, you feel good.

You feel like you’ve taken a step to achieve it. It gives you satisfaction.

This is called social reality. The affirmation of your goal by people whose respect your desire makes you feel like you’ve somewhat achieved it, even though you haven’t done jack squat.

Go and achieve something you always wanted to achieve. Once you’re done, don’t tell a soul.

This will do wonders for your confidence and the way you see yourself.

You know you are a badass. There is no need to tell anyone.