In a society where oversharing seems to be a requirement, it’s tempting to scream your goals to the entire world so they know what you’re planning. However, it’s best to take the silent route when it comes to your goals and dreams.
Being quiet about your goals helps to filter unwanted advice, questions, and unnecessary turmoil from people who are scared to try anything outside of what they perceive as “normal”.
Why you shouldn’t share your goals with everyone
The truth is not everyone is going to be happy that you’re doing something great with your life but that shouldn’t stop you from pushing forward with your plans.
People tend to be close-minded to new ideas and reject them immediately while projecting their fears onto those who are willing to try something new. They’ll give you a million reasons why what you’re attempting will not work and never once give you a reason why they think it actually could.
Pay attention to how people respond to the ideas that you choose to share with them. If their only response is skepticism, you’ve identified a person who you can never brainstorm ideas with.
If they’re near and dear to your heart, like a family member or a close friend, let them in on what you’ve been doing after it’s been completed so that their only reaction is shock. Whatever they have to say after that won’t matter much because you’ve already done the hard work and brought your dream to life.
Hearing all the negative things about why you can’t achieve your goals will only affect your confidence and create doubt in yourself. You already have your own negative thoughts to eliminate; don’t allow others to add their own to the mix.
Not everyone is worthy of knowing your goals and dreams.
All your dreams are achievable and absolutely none is impossible.
For example,
The Wright brothers dreamt of flying like a bird so they built a contraption that made them achieve that dream — the first airplane.
Jacques Cousteau wanted divers to swim underwater like a fish so he teamed up with Emile Gagnan and built a contraption that allowed for deeper and safer dives — the SCUBA gear.
Both inventions allowed humans to do things that were previously seen as impossible.
It’s important to understand that nothing is impossible.
“Impossible is just a word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it.” — Muhammad Ali
Why should you succeed quietly?
When you keep to yourself, you allow your mind to explore avenues that would have been previously shut down by the wrong people. Being quiet also eliminates the anxiety of having to share your progress when you don’t fully understand what’s happening.
Things won’t always turn out how you envision them and having to explain your temporary setbacks to an already skeptical person will create a sense of discouragement that will only hurt your progress.
Don’t get me wrong: there are people in your life that help you elevate and push you further than you dreamed. Most of the time these helpful people are the ones you’d least expect.
Whenever you work quietly and ask for advice from those helpful people in your life, you’ll make great headway with your goals. You will begin to understand that the setbacks you’ve been experiencing are only minor ones and, with great people beside you to help push you forward, a better and more efficient path will reveal itself.
If you share your setbacks with everyone, the so-called “advice” you’ll be getting will unfortunately not be very productive. Even though some people genuinely believe that they’re helping you, they’re mostly unaware that they’re causing more damage than actual good.
Set goals and stay quiet about them. Only let those who will help push you to new heights in on your plans. Don’t share your goals with everyone; not everyone can be trusted, so choose your confidants slowly and wisely.
“If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” ― Albert Einstein
I loved this article. I have learned not to share my goals with anyone except my husband. But the way you explained things were right on and validated how I felt about sharing my goals. And it also made me reflect on myself of how I may react to others. So now I’m more conscious about making sure my reply’s are always positive and not affect that person negatively.
Thanks Rosita! Keep them goal quiet and keep shocking everyone! I’m rooting for you!
Great advice about being quiet with your goals! Love the point about giving yourself the time and space to explore your options. I look forward to reading more articles!