About this episode

This episode explores whether to announce your goals publicly or pursue them quietly, discussing the psychological effects and accountability involved.

In this episode, I talk about whether you should announce your goals to the world with great fanfare—or just quietly plug away and pursue them. The topic was inspired by a couple of social media clips, including a “sub-11 second 100 meters in 90 days” project, which sounds exciting…but also highlights  what we’re seeing more and more today—spouting big goals, getting instant attention, and receiving that payoff without having to continue on and struggle and suffer through the process. I get into the brain science behind this, including how simply announcing a goal—“I’m working on a book,” “I’m training for an Ironman”—can trigger a dopamine spike that tricks you into thinking you’ve already made progress. I also cover the flip side, with research showing that sharing goals can increase accountability and support when done correctly. From there, I break down the nuances: why announcing vague or unrealistic goals can backfire, how you risk turning into a “dilettante” chasing attention instead of results, why process-oriented goals beat outcome obsession (with insights from…

People in this episode

Host: Brad Kearns

Topics covered

• goal setting
• motivation
• accountability
• dopamine response
• process-oriented goals
• social media influence

Keywords

• goal announcement
• dopamine spike
• accountability
• motivation
• process vs outcome

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: book

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