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  • Humans have tons of dreams, aspirations and goals which we would like to achieve.

  • And since we are social creatures, we also like to talk about them.

  • But maybe it's time we stop telling people what our goals are.

  • The reason why we shouldn't is because when we tell others what we're planning to do, it makes us less likely to follow through and actually achieve those goals.

  • Here's why: In a 2009 study, a group of researchers examined 163 people across four separate tests.

  • Every one of those participants was told to write down their personal goal.

  • Then (the) first half of them told everyone in the room about their commitment to this goal.

  • The other half didn't and kept their mouths shut.

  • Then everyone was given 45 minutes to work on their goal, but they were told that they could stop at any time.

  • The results were quite interesting: The group that kept silent about their goals, worked on average for the entirety of (the) 45 minutes.

  • After being asked about their progress, they tended to be pretty realistic.

  • Most of them said that they had a lot more work to do before they completed their goal.

  • The group that told everyone in the room about their goals, had a different story though.

  • They only worked for 33 minutes on average before they quit.

  • And when they were asked about their progress, they were a lot more confident than the other group.

  • Most of them said that they were pretty close to completing their goal, even though they really weren't.

  • So this group made much less progress on the goal and yet they felt that they had actually done more.

  • The researchers concluded that telling people about your goals creates a premature sense of completion.

  • This happens because when you announce your goal to someone, you feel good.

  • And it feels like you've actually done something towards achieving that goal, even though you haven't done anything yet.

  • In other words, your mind mistakes the talking for doing.

  • As far as I'm concerned there are four types of people: first are those who don't take action and yet, tell everyone about their goals.

  • This is your typical "New Year's resolutionist."

  • They tell everyone how they are going to improve themselves, but they don't really do anything.

  • These people are super annoying.

  • Then second we have those who don't take action and tell no one.

  • They have aspirations, but don't get anything done and they don't tell anyone either.

  • They keep their goals to themselves, but never achieve them.

  • A boring bunch of people.

  • The third type are those who take action and tell everyone.

  • These are productive people, but tend to be assholes.

  • They get stuff done, but they are constantly bragging to others (about) how amazing they are.

  • Basically they're full of themselves.

  • And finally the fourth type are those who take action and tell no one.

  • These people get everything done, but don't tell a single soul.

  • They are super-high achievers who don't feel the need to talk about their success.

  • Instead they let their results do the talking for them.

  • I'm willing to argue that the person who does the work and tells nobody, is the best type.

  • The truth is, people don't really care about what you say you're going to do.

  • They only care about what you've actually done.

  • But they also don't want to listen to someone bragging.

  • That's why the fourth type is the best type in my opinion.

  • Knowing all of this, stop telling others your goals.

  • There really are no benefits to it.

  • You don't want to be the guy who just talks about all the things he's going to do, but doesn't take any action.

  • Remember, your mind might confuse talking for doing.

  • And make no mistake, having dreams and goals is nothing special.

  • Everyone in the world has them.

  • But it's only those who take action towards those goals, that are actually amazing.

  • I know it's sometimes difficult to keep your exciting goals to yourself.

  • So to eliminate that urge, you should write them down and create a plan on how to achieve them.

  • Then stick to that plan, but don't tell anyone about it.

  • As they say: Work hard in silence and let success make the noise.

  • Thanks for watching.

Humans have tons of dreams, aspirations and goals which we would like to achieve.

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