Derek Sivers: Keep your goals to yourself

http://www.ted.com After hitting on a brilliant new life plan, our first instinct is to tell someone -- but Derek Sivers says it's better to keep goals secret. He presents research stretching as far back as the 1920s to show why people who talk about their ambitions may be less likely to achieve them.

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the "Sixth Sense" wearable tech, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/translate. Watch a highlight reel of the Top 10 TEDTalks at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/top10

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[Derek McD]

My new goal is to not tell people my goals. Please don't read this comment.

[k odu]

I have watched dozens of Ted talks. This one is the most interesting and the easiest to put into actual practice.

[Thies Guay]

this was the same reason i never told my parents i changed my major to neuroscience, or that i wrote a book. i try to tell my friends never to "spill their stories" and just write them. you never want to lose that "fire in the belly"

[Liz Kaloczi]

believing and acting like you have already acheived ur goals is the way to acheive your goals according to the law of attraction... so i havnt heard this idea before and the research seemed questionable to me... ive only ever heard and taught that to say out aloud is to strengthen the vibration of bringing your desires to you.

[Sofian Mesbahi]

Same here (: 

[noobenstein]

It's not as simple as that. It's because people want to stop each other's goals. If they really cared they would help you.

[S0vereignX]

silence is the only real truth

[1Dontberude]

If your "Goal" dont require you to work on it everyday wven when your not thinking about it in particular is not a goal.....