Are we shooting ourselves in the foot by announcing our goals?

[Jon_Snow]

 

Apparently by announcing your goal, you get satisfaction. That weakens your resolve. What do you think?

[Wolfhorde]

I don't think that it matters quite frankly and since there's no reference to the studies he cites I'd take it with a grain of salt because there's often more variables playing into it that aren't being controlled for. I'd also reckon this is more geared towards a more "normal" audience that makes New Year's Resolutions they don't stick with or a business plan they don't go through with or plan for great holiday with an unknown destination. There are literally jackloads of variables that can play into these things and as it is with fitness I'd say it is the same thing with goals: Do what works for you. If you're hellbent on doing what is "proven to work" you're not going to get shit done because then you'll be changing how you go about it every time a new study and/or interpretations of these (or older ones) come out. And if you don't know what works for you you can experiment until you have something but I highly doubt such a blanket statement can be an "if X, then Y" factor. And while arguing from biological or neuroscientific points of view can be pretty helpful they can also become very reductionist, general tendencies can only account for so much when it's about individual variables.

[fengor]

If i keep my goal to myself I don't really feel accountable for it. So for me not announcing the goal is like having no goal.

[FalseAesop]

Indeed, there are other variables at work here.

 

We here don't just announce our goals, we have a deadline on our six week challenge, we are held to account, we pass or we fail.  Sure every challenge there are folks who announce their goals and don't follow through to the end, but for the rest, there is that accounting at the end.  The facing of meeting, exceeding, or falling short.  

 

I think there is a world of difference between announcing a New Years resolution of "I'm going to lose weight this year," and saying "I will lose 10 pounds in six weeks", and posting whether you did or not when those six weeks are over. 

[Nuala]

In my opinion, if nobody around you share the same goal, it's better to keep it for you. Naysayers can destroy any willpower. But if there is at least one person with the same goal: share it, accountability helps a lot.

[Guest Dirty Deads]

"You know nothing Jon Snow"

[Wolfhorde]

What Aesop said, I personally know that I work a lot better with motivation around me and someone who will occasionally give me a motivational and constructive kick in the ass. Then there's the notion of "challenge", and it might just be me but I think that there needs to be a perceived challenge that people will actually put their power and time into it. I actually think the latter is one of the reasons why office/business jobs can be such a drudgery. (but that's a topic for another time)

Plus, measurements and constructive feedback are our friends. That which gets measured/constructively evaluated gets improved. (which is why being specific is so important)

[FalseAesop]

I do have to admit, after a little more discussion on this topic in the chatroom that I must partially concede to the bastard's... I mean Jon Snow's point.

 

Last year when I started tracking my caloric intake, when I got serious about losing weight.  I didn't tell anyone, not a soul.  After about a month I did tell someone but only because they looked over my shoulder and asked me what I was doing as I was logging food on my phone when we were out eating, even then I played it down.  I kept silent about it.  After I had dropped about 50 pounds someone at work asked me what I'd been doing.  I told them... after that plenty of people asked me what app I had been using to track my food.

 

Seems people at work had noticed my weight loss, but because I had not said a thing about it they weren't sure whether they should ask me about it.  I could have been sick, or gotten cancer or something!  

 

So that seems to lean towards Jon Snow's TED talk... but on the other hand....

 

I tried to start working out several times after I started tracking calories, tried a couch 2-5k program, it didn't take.  I tried some workouts I'd seen online, didn't stick with them.  It wasn't until I heard about Nerd Fitness on the Art of Manliness podcast, joined the forums, and started posting that I actually stuck with the workouts.  Downloaded a different 5k trainer and followed through (finished it and am still running).  A large part of that was wanting to participate in the 6 week challenges.

 

So that would be a score in the other direction.

 

I think what it comes down to is something the Blog likes to preach.  There is no one size fits all solution.  Not for everybody, nor for one body for every thing, in this case of goals and follow through.  Different situations, and different goals call for different tactics and strategies.

[Tech_Hunter]

In my opinion, if nobody around you share the same goal, it's better to keep it for you. Naysayers can destroy any willpower. But if there is at least one person with the same goal: share it, accountability helps a lot.

^^^This....

 

I announced my goals for the last 6 week challenge, and that accountability, even when I am posting in my own log, even if no one reads it, kept me on track, and I even surpassed my goals.

 

That said, I no longer tell most people IRL about what I am doing, because some people either tell me I am weird/crazy/unhealthy, or they sabotage me.  

 

They probably know by now that my food is different, I live with them, but I have only told my kids about my lifting, because they support me.

[I-Jo]

I think it depends on who you tell.

 

If I tell my boyfriend- it means nothing. He doesn't care- after telling him for 5 months- he'll support me- because it's me- but for no other reason.

 

But here- or where I have fitness friends- I tell them- they don't challenge me- they don't question- they support.

[Horsedog]

I think it depends on who you tell.

 

If I tell my boyfriend- it means nothing. He doesn't care- after telling him for 5 months- he'll support me- because it's me- but for no other reason.

 

But here- or where I have fitness friends- I tell them- they don't challenge me- they don't question- they support.

^ this.  Tell the right people.  People who'll support you.  Although I don't mind "getting into it" with people who'll challenge me - I find it helps me really get my head around my own goals and strategies.  Trying to articulate what I'm trying to accomplish to a skeptic is useful in making sure that I'm clear in my own mind what I'm fighting to achieve (and often why I'm fighting to achieve it).

 

For example, I just recently had an ongoing conversation with CoreyD about a program that I'm using, and it was a real learning experience for me BECAUSE we didn't necessarily see eye-to-eye on it.  I've subsequently been doing some rethinking as to what I really wanted to get out of it in the future, and whether it's the best program for me to continue to pursue.

 

I do NOT, however, engage with useless tits who just want to sabotage me.  Wasted breath, in my opinion.

[Guest CyborgNinja]

You know, I've actually noticed that I have a much easier time following through with everything I do when I keep it 200% secret.

[UberTumbleweed]

I agree that's it's all in who you share your goals with -- and what your plans are for accountability!

 

I've announced some goals and failed miserably because I didn't seem to have the drive to follow though.  Maybe it was the sense of satisfaction that I got just from talking about it that made me back off from actually doing it.

 

After silently losing a lot of weight at work, I gave into pressure from my team to admit I was losing weight and say what my goal weight was.  It got gossiped about, and soon enough, someone who was originally uninvolved left a business card for a bariatric surgeon on my desk.  That took the wind out of my metaphorical wings and I stopped losing as easily.

 

But sharing my goals here in the challenge threads has been very helpful.  If my goals aren't S.M.A.R.T., I'm taken to task for it.  I'm given specific encouragement and suggestions.  I can ask people to hold me accountable, and they will do it firmly but kindly.  NF Challenges are tools to be used to achieve your goals; if you commit to using the tool, it's nothing like just shouting into the wind.