And since we are social creatures, we also like to talk about them.

But maybe it's time we stop telling people what our goals are.

The reason why we shouldn't is because when we tell others what we're planning to do, it makes us less likely to follow through and actually achieve those goals.

Here's why.

In a 2009 study, a group of researchers examined 163 people across four separate tests.

Every one of those participants was told to write down their personal goal.

Then, (the) first half of them told everyone in the room about their commitment to this goal.

The other half didn't and kept their mouths shut.

Then, everyone was given 45 minutes to work on their goal, but they were told that they could stop at any time.

The results were quite interesting.

The group that kept silent about their goals worked, on average, for the entirety of (the) 45 minutes.

After being asked about their progress, they tended to be pretty realistic.

Most of them said that they had a lot more work to do before they completed their goal.

The group that told everyone in the room about their goals had a different story, though.

They only worked for 33 minutes on average before they quit.

And when they were asked about their progress, they were a lot more confident than the other group.

Most of them said that they were pretty close to completing their goal, even though they really weren't.

So, this group made much less progress on the goal and, yet, they felt that they had actually done more.

The researchers concluded that telling people about your goals creates a premature sense of completion.

This happens because, when you announce your goal to someone, you feel good.

And it feels like you've actually done something towards achieving that goal, even though you haven't done anything yet.

In other words, your mind mistakes the talking for doing.

As far as I'm concerned, there are four types of people.

First are those who don't take action and, yet, tell everyone about their goals.

This is your typical "New Year's resolutionist".

They tell everyone how they are going to improve themselves, but they don't really do anything.

These people are super annoying.

Then, second, we have those who don't take action and tell no one.

They have aspirations, but they don't get anything done and they don't tell anyone, either.

They keep their goals to themselves, but never achieve them.

A boring bunch of people.

The third type are those who take action and tell everyone.

These are productive people, but tend to be assholes.

They get stuff done, but they're constantly bragging to others how amazing they are.

Basically, they're full of themselves.

And, finally, the fourth type are those who take action and tell no one.

These people get everything done, but don't tell a single soul.

They are super high achievers who don't feel the need to talk about their success.

Instead they let their results do the talking for them.

I'm willing to argue that the person who does the work and tells nobody is the best type.

The truth is, people don't really care about what you say you're going to do.

They only care about what you've actually done.

But they also don't want to listen to someone bragging.

That's why the fourth type is the best type, in my opinion.

Knowing all of this, stop telling others your goals.

There really are no benefits to it.

You don't want to be the guy who just talks about all the things he's going to do, but doesn't take any action.

Remember, your mind might confuse talking for doing.

And, make no mistake ⏤ having dreams and goals is nothing special.

Everyone in the world has them.

But it's only those who take action towards those goals that are actually amazing.

I know it's sometimes difficult to keep your exciting goals to yourself.

So, to eliminate that urge, you should write them down and create a plan on how to achieve them.

Then, stick to that plan, but don't tell anyone about it.

As they say: Work hard in silence and let success make the noise.

Thanks for watching.