The Science Behind Why Keeping Goals Private Boosts Success Why quiet commitment might be the key to turning dreams into reality

At first glance, openly sharing goals might seem like a straightforward way to boost motivation and accountability. After all, announcing intentions to friends or colleagues appears to create external pressure to follow through. However, emerging research challenges this assumption, revealing that publicly declaring goals can sometimes backfire—undermining the very progress it aims to encourage.

This phenomenon is tied to a psychological gap between intention and action, where the excitement of announcing a goal provides a premature sense of accomplishment. Understanding this counterintuitive dynamic is crucial for anyone striving to turn aspirations into real achievements.

The Unexpected Drawback of Sharing Goals

It may seem logical that sharing goals with others would increase accountability. For example, informing friends about training for a marathon might be assumed to increase motivation. However, research shows this is often not the case.

Most peers tend to be preoccupied with their own lives and rarely act as effective accountability partners. Public declarations often widen the “intention-action gap,” a psychological phenomenon that describes the disconnect between intentions and actual behavior (1) .

Insights From Research

Since the 1920s, the intention-action gap has been studied extensively. Humans tend to have numerous dreams and goals and usually know the initial steps required. Despite this, taking those steps or maintaining effort often proves difficult.

In 2009, a series of experiments conducted at New York University investigated how publicly announcing goals affects follow-through. Participants were asked to state a goal and were then given 45 minutes to work toward it, divided into two groups:

Group A: Publicly announced their goal before starting.

 Group B: Kept their goal private.

 

The results showed that those who remained silent worked nearly the full 45 minutes and realistically assessed their progress. Conversely, those who announced their goals quit after only 33 minutes on average but reported feeling much closer to completion despite less actual progress.

This discrepancy was explained by the concept of social reality—the feeling of accomplishment generated by social validation, which provides a false sense of progress without actual work being done (2) .

Focusing on Actions Rather Than Identity

Framing goals as specific actions rather than identity claims proves more effective. For instance:

Saying “Run one hour daily” rather than “Become a marathon runner.”

 Saying “Write 500 words every morning” instead of “Become an author.”

 

Action-oriented goals are measurable, repeatable, and less prone to psychological pitfalls related to ego and identity pressure.

Building a System for Success

For effective goal achievement, the following strategies are recommended:

Write goals down privately to serve as personal reminders without external pressure.

 Break large goals into smaller, manageable tasks to avoid overwhelm.

 Track progress on actions taken, not just final outcomes, and celebrate consistency.

 Select accountability partners carefully, choosing those genuinely invested in progress.

 Delay public announcements to avoid premature satisfaction from social approval (3) .

 

Examples from High Achievers

Many successful individuals prefer quiet execution:

Authors often keep projects secret until completion.

 Athletes train privately before revealing championship ambitions.

 Entrepreneurs operate in "stealth mode" to maintain focus.

 Such practices protect momentum and energy rather than foster secrecy.

Conclusion

Writing down goals remains a powerful method for clarifying intentions and increasing success chances. However, achievement depends more on consistent action than on sharing aspirations prematurely.