Should We Disclose Our Plans and Objectives?
I announced proudly to everyone that “I'm going to write a novel,” and that was in 2010 when I was an ambitious university student and the future was bright. I shared all my goals publicly and people were in some way judging me for what I said and wanted to know when I finished, but I hadn't finished writing that novel, and I had written fifty thousand words and left the manuscript in the initial editing stages, so what happened?
Some research suggests that an open announcement of my intentions in writing the novel is where I made a mistake, so before you reveal your big dream, let's dive into the rationales why you want to keep your dreams to yourself if you want to reach that goal.
Practical experience proving the impact of disclosing your goal in reaching it:
Perhaps the most common research on goal sharing and its relationship to motivation was written by Peter Gollwitzer of New York University, and in 2009 Gollwitzer and his colleagues published research suggesting that sharing your goal publicly with your surroundings can make you less motivated and determined to achieve it.
In one study, law students were asked to fill out a questionnaire measuring their commitment to making the most of their educational opportunities. Those whose responses indicated a high level of commitment to becoming lawyers were divided into two groups.
For the first group, one of the study supervisors considered each participant's questionnaire, then asked them to confirm that the answer they had written was the one they intended, while the second group was never asked about the answers, and they never knew that the committee had seen their answers.
Afterwards, both groups were given 45 minutes to work on legal cases. The first group that acknowledged their answers spent less time working on the cases than the second group that did not disclose their answers.
Can praise hinder us from reaching our goals?
The researchers concluded that when someone notices your goal in life, this social recognition of what you want to do is a reward that may reduce your efforts, so in this case, students who have stated that they are committed to becoming lawyers have earned that reward in their minds thanks to the acknowledgment by the study supervisor of their answers, so if you want to continue achieving your goal, it may be better to keep it to yourself.
This way, premature praise won't fool you into feeling like you've achieved your goal. So, do you want to reach your goal? If so, receiving social recognition for your goal before you achieve it may make you less likely to reach it.
A practical experience that examines the difference between the effect of “praising the person” and “praising the effort” in your inner motivation:
In a study conducted by Reed College, researchers tried to measure the impact of certain types of praise on our motivations, and they hired 111 undergraduates in one of three groups:
- Praise the person: To study reactions related to the individual.
- Praise the process or effort: To study the impact of comments related to the method used.
- No praise: No feedback.
Each group was then asked to complete three puzzles, and after completing the first two puzzles, students in the personal praise group received written notes such as “Excellent, you have a great talent,” students in the praise group received comments such as, “Excellent, you were using some effective strategies,” and the third group did not get praise. The third and final puzzle was intended to cause failure, and students in all groups received notes that simply said, “You did not do well this time.”
After the first two puzzles, the questionnaire responses showed no impact on participants' self-motivation, but after the third "failure" puzzle, the results showed that at all levels, the person's praise was less motivating than the praise of the process, and the participants reported a stronger motivation after praising the process and effort versus praising the person or not praising at all.
Are we praising the person's effort or intelligence?
These findings led researchers to conclude that “all age groups after preschool are more positively influenced by praise of effort than by a person after facing failure,” while it is natural for people you love to praise you after announcing your goals.
This study suggests that “when someone praises you for your inherent traits that you have no control over them a little bit, it's not very helpful.” Moreover, in some cases, it may be less motivating than not receiving praise at all, especially after experiencing failure.
So, for example, if you announce that you want to master the German language, and everyone responds with a personal compliment, such as, “Wow, you must be a smart person,” and then you fail the German language test, this setback may negatively affect your motivation to achieve your goal, and it would be more helpful if people responded with a compliment focused on your effort, such as, “That's great, because you practice new vocabulary every morning; You're on the right track”.
Is it possible for this person to give me a "personal compliment"? If so, it may be better not to tell them of your intentions, otherwise you may feel less motivated to achieve your goal.
Which is better: the critical observations or positive ones?
University of Chicago professor Aylet Fischbach reviewed new research and studies examining the impact of positive and negative reactions in pursuit of the goal, and her team and she found:
- When positive observations indicate commitment to a goal, it increases motivation.
- When positive reactions indicate significant progress, it actually reduces motivation.
Fischbach and her team studied American students enrolled in French language classes for beginners and advanced students, and found that students in the beginner class were more interested in having a teacher focus on positive observations. In contrast, students in the advanced class were more interested in the teacher who emphasized negative observations.
In a follow-up study of American participants who learned a new task to typing in German, researchers found similar results, as participants progressed a larger percentage sought negative reaction.
For each article position:
The researchers concluded that beginners are interested in evaluating their commitment to a goal, so they are more likely to stick to the goal when they receive positive reactions. On the other hand, professionals are interested in their actual progress toward the goal, so they are more likely to stick to it when they receive negative reactions.
If your goal is to win a marathon and you are an experienced runner, it is helpful to share your thoughts and dreams with another runner who can give you critical notes to help you improve, but if this is the first time you are taking part in a race, you will need to share your goal with someone who gives you positive notes to encourage you.
If you're a beginner, you will need positive feedback, but if you are an expert, it may be helpful to tell the person exactly what kind of comments you need at this stage.
The impact of disclosure of objectives varies depending on the nature of the relationship with the other party:
A study by Michael Inzel and Sharon Anderson found that when a participant was being observed by someone who intended to control their behavior (either to check their compliance or to assess their performance), the participant's subjective motivation decreased, but if the participant was told that the experimenter was only observing them out of curiosity, there would be no noticeable effect on the subjective motivation of the participant.
Furthermore, a study by George Tsvetkovic found that when participants thought they would have to explain their decisions to a friend, they spoke and acted with higher accuracy than those told they would be held accountable by a stranger.
So, when is accountability helpful? Perhaps when your accountability partner is a friend, a Dominican University study found that more than 70% of participants who sent a weekly progress report to a friend reported significant progress on their plan, compared to only 35% of participants who kept their goals to themselves and didn't write them.
Tell them about the physical competition:
Have you ever told someone your dream, and they say there are so many other people trying to do the same thing? While these observations may be well-intentioned, they may hurt your efforts. In one study, researchers found that when students realize that there is a lot of competition, they will reduce their efforts, so it may be better to keep your bold goal to yourself, and be unaware of the competition you face.
However, there are some areas where competition can enhance your efforts. At the University of Pennsylvania, nearly 800 students underwent an 11-week training program and were randomly assigned to four groups: The individual alone is isolated, the team support, the individual comparison, the group comparison , and the results showed that those who were in a competitive atmosphere attended the exercises 90% more than those who were not.
In line with the results of a University of Pennsylvania study, a Rutgers study found that participants performed better when competing with others on a physical task, but not on a task that requires mindfulness or memory. So, if your goal is related to physical exercise, such as marathon training, weight loss, training, or swimming, a little competition may intensify your efforts.
In conclusion:
As with any advice, there is no one size fits all, but what research and studies suggest is that if you are going to share your goals, do it logically, and before you announce your intentions to someone, think about how they realistically affect your chances of achieving your goals.