The Benefits of Sharing Your Goals & How to Do it Right
In Hamlet, Shakespeare wrote the line, “To be or not to be, that is the question.” This famous quote has sparked conversations around the true purpose of life.
While we’re not as eloquent as Shakespeare, we do have an important question that could spark transformation in your life. That question is: “To share or not to share your personal growth goals?”
In this article, we’re going to dive into the benefits of sharing your goals and how to create an effective goal-sharing plan that will motivate you to achieve your dreams.
Not All Shares Are Created Equal
Some experts say sharing your goals will keep you accountable to and keep you motivated to stay on track. While other experts say that the act of sharing your goals could put too much pressure on yourself and make you less motivated.
Which advice is correct? The only way to answer this question is to realize that there isn’t a black and white answer.
The fact is not all “shares” are created equal. Just like there is a smart way to create goals, there is also a smart way to share our goals with others. To make sharing your goals with others beneficial so it motivates you to reach them, you need to carefully decide whom you share it with, why you’re sharing it, and how you’re sharing it.
With Whom Should You Share Your Goals With?
Sharing goals doesn’t mean you have to announce it on social media for all your friends to see (unless, of course, you want to!) Many people are shy to do so, while some may feel like they would like some things private from most of their network.
The good news is you don’t have to share your goals with everyone you know to reap its benefits. Research from Ohio State University revealed that you are more likely to achieve your goals when you share them with someone you look up to or whom you consider more successful than you.
The psychology behind this is that when you share your goals with someone whose opinion you respect, you’ll be more driven to achieve your goals. This is because you don’t want someone you look up to be disappointed in you.
In the same line of thought, you could also choose someone who has achieved the goal you want to achieve. For example, if your goal is to get out of debt, you could choose to share your goal with someone who has successfully rebuilt their lives after facing bankruptcy.
Whether you look up to someone because you respect their opinion as a person, or because they have achieved what you dream of achieving, sharing your goals with this person is more likely to keep you motivated and accountable.
Why Are You Sharing Your Goals?
Yes, we want to share our goals to benefit from the accountability and motivation goal sharing brings. However, we need to take a deeper dive into our intentions to make sure we are not self-sabotaging our efforts.
Here are some important questions to ask:
Am I seeking the approval of the person or people I share with?
Am I trying to compete with the person or people I share with?
If I don’t meet my goals, would I feel embarrassed in front of the person or people I share with?
The reason why it’s important to ask yourself these questions is because you want to make sure that there isn’t another factor becoming a barrier to achieving your goals.
Let’s say for example you have a secret desire to seek the approval of the person you share your goals with. This desire can actually dilute your efforts towards achieving your goal because you have a second intention. Instead of fully focusing on the techniques that work for you to achieve your goal, you might be swayed to copy the techniques the other person used just to impress them.
In the end, you could end up not achieving your goal and feeling like you didn’t impress them, which can leave you feeling crushed with double the disappointment.
Thus, when selecting the person or people whom you want to share your goals with, be sure to also check in with your intention and dig deeper to investigate if there are any other secondary factors that could influence your behavior.
Ideally, the person or people you choose to share your goals with will be someone who:
You respect and look up to but don’t feel you are competing with.
Understands your goals and fuels the energy you have for your goals.
Supports how you pursue your goals in your own way without trying to manage how you should do it.
How Should You Be Sharing Your Goals?
As we mentioned earlier, just like there is a smart way to create goals, there is also a smart way to share our goals with others.
If you’re familiar with creating goals using the SMART system, you’ll know that it stands for, “specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely.” Goals set using these parameters have been proven to be more effective.
When it comes to sharing your goals, there are also certain parameters that will boost the success and effectiveness of sharing. We believe these parameters are: specific, emotional, and visual. Let’s go through each one.
Get specific on your entire game plan
Sitting down over a cup of coffee with a friend and saying, “I want to lose weight” is not as effective as saying, “I want to lose 30 pounds by the end of November”.
What else can make it more effective? By sharing the specific details of your entire game plan. For example, “I want to lose 30 pounds by the end of November. I will commit to run three times a week for 30 minutes per session. And I will stop drinking soda everyday.”
When you share the specifics of your goal and your game plan, what you’re doing is solidifying all the areas you want support and accountability. The person or people you share your goals with will be able to support and motivate you much better when they have the specifics of your entire game plan.
Share the emotions attached to your goal
When sharing your specific goals, you should also share your emotions attached to your goal. Essentially, this is sharing your big why.
Why do you want to achieve your goals? What’s the deeper fulfillment you will get from it? What pain will you liberate yourself from when you achieve this goal? What do you look forward to the most when you achieve this goal?
Here are a few examples of goals and the emotional why that could be attached to it.
Financial Goals
1. Get out of debt before October 2022. I no longer want to live with the stress of debt and anxiety.
2. Additional financial stream. I want to start saving up for my kids' college funds so they can secure a good education.
3. Achieve financial independence. I want to enjoy an early retirement and enjoy the freedom to pursue my hobbies and travel.
4. Own a profitable business. I don’t want to keep working at a job I don’t love just to keep up with my expenses.
5. Make a million and give away 50% of it. I want to help others in need because I don’t want others to struggle through the hardship I had once faced.
Personal Goals
1. Pursue a college degree or profession I want to expand my professional horizons so I can get a new job in the city, make new friends, and try out new experiences.
2. Make a difference in others’ lives I want to live a life of purpose that is fulfilling and meaningful.
3. Change the world, one person at a time I dream for my children to inherit a world that is safe, kind, and positive.
4. Develop an attitude of gratitude I want to break free of anxiety that prevents me from pursuing my dreams.
5. Cultivate mindfulness I want to show up in my relationships with more calm and clarity and stop letting the stress of work affect my relationships.
Work-Life Balance Goals
1. Create space and time to take care of yourself I want to support my path to healing mentally and emotionally so I am not carrying baggage that leads to physical ailments.
2. Visit 5 countries I want to make new friends in different countries and expand my view of the world.
3. Gain more control of my life I no longer want to feel lost and unsure of which direction to go when all my other peers are living successful lives.
4. Build affirming relationships with friends and coworkers I want to learn how to be more vulnerable so I can have more fulfilling relationships.
5. Live free from personal, financial, and vocational worry I want to be able to spend my time contributing to bettering the world without worry.
6. Take quarterly vacations with my family I want to develop a deeper, bonding experience with my family more regularly.
Make it visual
One of the best ways to share specific goals with emotion is to make it visual. For example, creating and sharing a vision board with a friend can quickly communicate what you want to achieve and why.
Another reason why making it visual is so effective is because you’ll be leveraging the power of visualization for both yourself and the people you share it with.
There has been a lot of evidence which supports the power of visualization. It's been known for centuries and it's finally being marked as something which really helps you achieve your goals, whether it be weight loss or trying to get better at work.
The reason why vision boards work is because when we picture our future success in our head, we face the reality of achieving it. This leads to more likely behavior patterns that will lead to these goals. Vision boards make them feel more real when we see images of them regularly.
Regular use of a vision board will help you focus on your long-term goals and prepare you to work towards them. Furthermore, it will influence your subconscious to see evidence that the goal is becoming reality.
By sharing your vision board with someone, you will double the impact that the power of visualization can have. When some have the same emotions and vision attached to your goals in their subconcious too, they will become better motivators and accountability partners.
Start Creating & Sharing Your New Year’s Resolution Vision Board
Even though it might seem cliche, creating New Year’s resolutions can be really powerful because the end of the year is a great time to reflect on where you are now versus where you want to be in the coming year.
The intrinsic drive for a fresh start in a new year can be a powerful motivator, while the deadline of the end of the year becomes a built-in timely factor that makes New Year’s resolutions so powerful.
By putting your New Year’s resolutions on a vision board and sharing it, you will maximize your chances of achieving them because you’ve leveraged both the power of visualization and the power of sharing goals.
The Advantages of a Digital Vision Board
While creating physical vision boards can have its advantages, it can be very difficult to share. Imagine trying to show your friend a physical vision board in a coffee shop!
It can save you a lot of time since you only need to drag-and-drop to build one.
You can unleash unlimited creativity without being held back by what’s available in physical print format.
It has the mobility to go with you anywhere, so you can have your vision board with you all day, whether at work, at the gym, at work, and even when you travel.
You’ll have more control over your privacy and won’t have to worry about peeping eyes.
You can easily share it with others that you want to share it with to leverage the power of sharing goals.
You can easily update your vision board as you evolve.
Make Great Strides in 2022 with Visionbook
To easily follow the steps covered in this article, start creating a digital vision board with Visionbook. Here’s why we know you’ll love it. Visionbook is an all-in-one personal development app that also combines other tools to put your vision to work. For example, the “Mission Statement” and “Values and Goals” sections help you to express and share the emotions behind your goals. While the integrated daily routine tracker and journal makes it easy for you to track your progress.
Finally, with customisable privacy and sharing features, Visionbook lets you easily share your vision with the right people to stay motivated and accountable.
So take action now by getting started risk-free with a free14-day trial of Visionbook. Sign up today to keep your visions, plans, and life strategies in one place—and fulfill your New Year's resolutions without hitting any snags.