Friday Flashback: Shut Up And Put Up?

I’ve been blogging here since 2008, and – if I do say so myself – there’s some good stuff in my archive that you might have missed. On Fridays, I’m going to take you on a Friday Flashback and point you to some good stuff from the checkered past of The Clothes Make The Girl.


Shut Up & Put Up?

Originally posted on November 14, 2010, this post is about a Newsweek piece that examined whether going public with our intentions makes us more or less likely to succeed at reaching our goals. It was an interesting article at the time, and I think there’s still a lot to be said for both sides of the argument.

Here’s a snippet from my 2010 post:

… I do tend to be a blabbermouth when I’m feeling enthusiastic about my goals – but I also mostly do the things I say I’m going to do.

For me, sharing my goals provides two benefits: (1) it makes me feel like I’m drawing my near and dear into my web of excitement; and (2) speaking my goals out loud (or typing them here) makes them seem more real.

Flashback to the whole post here:
Put Up & Shut Up?

What do you think? Better to go public or stay quiet?

 

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Comments

  • Kathleen says:

    Put them out there! That way the universe can make them come true.

    Like the cookbook we’re working on together – it never would’ve happened if we didn’t say our goals out loud.

  • Rachel says:

    I’ve mostly been all bark/no bite until recently. The bit about identity symbols sounds completely legit; it’s like the mental forecasting replaced tactile, nose to the grindstone *doing*.

    Can’t tell you how many “biggest loser” challenges I lost $20 on. Whereas for the last six months, I’ve quietly redeveloped my inner sense of health [and other] priorities, and together with the hubby, we’re making huge unannounced progress.

    I think it’s about personal development – having an honest, objective knowledge of yourself, not some fuzzy general projection of who you think you are/want to be. If you’re someone who’s connected those internal dots, your spoken goals will likely become a reality.

    • Mel says:

      Rachel, congrats on harnessing your bite! AWESOME!

      I agree that if we can be straight with ourselves, sharing our goals can be helpful (but maybe I agree with that because that’s what I do 😉

  • Sonya says:

    I think, like diet, it’s different things work for different people. I’m starting to think that I *need* to put it out there because what I’ve been doing hasn’t been working. (“If you keep doing what you’ve always done….” – “Doing the same thing and expecting different results…”) I live alone so there’s no accountability factor and it’s too easy to justify not sticking to something.

    I’ve converted 5 of my office mates to paleo and on Monday we start the Whole 9 program. Three of us have blogs to record our journey. I’m pretty darn excited about it.

    • Mel says:

      Right on! Congrats on getting your team together and best wishes for an awesome Whole30. Check in on Tuesday and let us know how day 1 goes!

      I’m going to look at your blog right now…

  • Walker says:

    Three cheers for Sonya and her office mates!

  • Jos says:

    I’m kinda torn in between..in some ways it’s good to share my goals so I’d be more accountable but on the other hand I fear that I might not accomplish it and will feel like a failure to others.

    • Mel says:

      Accountability is a big one for me. And in one of my few extroverted tendencies, things don’t feel ‘real’ to me until I say them out loud. It sometimes gets me in trouble.

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