To Achieve Your Goals Share Your Goal Widely With Others

Step 11 in my series, The 12 Steps to Achieving Your Goals

In my experience, there is only one motivation, and that is desire. No reasons or principle can contain it or stand against it. – Jane Smiley
Sharing your goal with others is vital to your success. However, many people are uncomfortable doing this, so they make the mistake of hiding their goal, or only sharing it with one person.
When you don’t share your goals it may be an unconscious attempt at self sabotage. If you don’t tell anyone about your goals they will never become real in your mind. When they don’t feel real it will be hard to be serious about them. You might feel uncomfortable at first, but hiding your goals will not help you.
Instead, you will find that when you have the courage to share your goal, you articulate it more clearly for yourself, and you strengthen your commitment to it. Sharing your goal also allows you to receive objective feedback. By sharing your huge goal, you will undoubtedly inspire friends, family, and colleagues. So please consider doing what we always ask children to do, and share!
You will find it most helpful if you share your goal with people who will give you encouragement and feedback. They should also challenge you when you are having difficulty. Be careful of naysayers (and there are plenty of them), for they will undermine your confidence. So select this small group carefully, and keep them updated regularly, for they will spur your progress.
Select a minimum of three people with whom you would like to share your goals. Commit to updating them regularly, ideally every two weeks.
I have used the example of my dream to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro for this series. When I found 3 people to share my goal with I found they started responding in all kinds of unexpected and supportive ways. One man, who I had met only once when undertaking a Weekend to End Breast Cancer training walk, lent me his entire trekking kit! Health practitioners dropped or lowered their fees to work on just about every part of my body! Life coaches spent time inspiring me! I learned that the more widely I shared my goal, the more widely the universe responded.
Decide who you will share your goal with?
You will find it most helpful if you share your goal with people who will give you encouragement and feedback. They should also challenge you when you are having difficulty. Select this small group very carefully and keep them updated regularly, for they will spur your progress.
Your next step: List at least three people with whom you would like to share your goals and who you will commit to update regularly. Make a definite commitment to let them know about your progress at least once every two week, more often would be even better. Plan to share both your accomplishments and the inevitable setbacks so your friends can help you by either celebrating with you or spurring you on.