Should you share what you are working on?
August 27
I hear two conflicting statements that drive me nuts.
You should never tell anyone what you aim to do. You need to show them what you do through action and what you produce. When you tell people what you want to do and what you are working on, your brain releases the same chemicals that it would if you were to complete that thing. Thereby telling what you want to accomplish results in the lack of drive to do said accomplishment, as you are getting the chemical reward prematurely. It makes going back to the work you are doing impossible because you’ve already juiced that orange that you were saving for the completion of your task.
Making and vocalizing your goals is essential to achieving them. If you don’t make it clear what you want, you’ll never get it. It is important to share with those around you, as they can give encouragement and offer advice on how to proceed. What’s more, when you have something amazing you are working on, and you can’t stop talking about it to your spouse and friends, then you know you have a good idea. Without defined and vocalized goals, you will never get what you want.
Both schools of thought have their merit. Both are championed by thought leaders in every industry. But where does the truth lie? If I were to tell you that I want to be a successful writer, does that now invalidate the goal? If I tell my wife I love her, does that keep me from acting in a way that shows that love?
I find myself aiming towards the middle. Most people don’t want to hear only about your goals. The common questions about how work is going, or how you are doing, show this. They target the action and not some grand scheme. Yet there is a place to ask about someone’s goals. What better way to get to know someone than by realizing their intentions? Well-written characters tend to need a want. Something that drives them. While it is not often stated but shown, this is what defines their character. I think it is the same for people in real life.
Someone who wants to take better care of their family financially and therefore has a goal to get a new job or get a promotion, says a lot about that person’s priorities.
Someone who has no goal and is aimless, also reveals a lot of their nature.
If all you do is talk about your goals but do not work on them, then that is a sure way to stay on the treadmill. But if you have dedicated a lot of time to something, as I like to think I have done and will be doing with my writing, the fear of some brain chemical tainting the spirit of what I’m doing seems frivolous. I write if it rains or snows. I write if I am happy or sad. I write if I’ve recently failed or succeeded. Those who preach the first, I think, do not give the worker doing the work enough credit.
I say share your goals. It may encourage someone who thinks their own course is frivolous, and help guide those who are aimless.