I read this very interesting piece by Jeff Haden in Inc about Silence: The Surprising Way to Achieve a Goal. The upshot of this article is that talking about a goal lowers your chances of achieving it. This is based on research studies like this one, which Jeff quotes. Per psychologists, this occurs because “when other people take notice of an individual’s identity-related behavioral intention, this gives the individual a premature sense of possessing the aspired-to identity.”
It brought back memories of a Chaanakya Neethi shloka that I had learnt in High School.
Before we get to the shloka, lets ask ourselves: “Who was Chaanakya?”
He was someone who can justifiably be called the “Father of Political Science & Statecraft”. He predates Machiavelli by about 1800 years. He lived circa 350 BC and taught at Takshashila, a sprawling University in what is today Pakistan (think of it as the Stanford of 350 BC!). Chaanakya single-handedly masterminded the creation of ancient India’s largest empire (the Maurya Empire) via his protégé, Chandragupta Maurya.
This is what he has to say about goal achievement (in Sanskrit):
Manasa chinthitham karyam vacha naiva prakashayeth,
Mantravath rakshayet goodam karyaechaapi niyojayeth
Translated in English, it reads:
Never reveal by speech;
An action contemplated by the mind;
Protect your plans like you would a secret Mantra;
Demonstrate instead your success in action;
I can vouch for this from personal experience. There is a certain strength & focus in speaking less and doing more. While feedback and the goodwill of friends is certainly welcome, there is a time & place for it. After we are well on our way towards our goals via concrete actions, we can gradually open up and solicit feedback. Not before.
What do you think of goal-sharing: good or bad?
VogonPoem 