After months of getting yourself pumped, you’re finally taking the plunge. Starting tomorrow, you’re going to quit smoking/start going to the gym/insert new change in your life and you can’t wait to tell all your friends and family about it.
That’s great and I’m super proud of you for making a positive change to your life. But do yourself a favour and don’t tell anyone about this life change.
I know you’re excited to let everyone know about what it is you’re doing but their positive reinforcement can actually be a negative thing. Okay, hear me out.
Studies show that having your friends give you positive feedback about what you’re doing is nice and all but it’ll give you a false sense of accomplishment before you’ve even done anything. This in turn can trick you into thinking you’ve already succeeded, thus hindering your efforts to change.
People knowing about your new life change could also make you feel extra pressure to keep doing what you’re doing or they may expect too much from you and that can wear away your motivation. Sometimes you may even get a negative response (especially from Asian parents) and that’ll just make you even more unwilling to change.
Now in saying all that, this may not be applicable for everyone. Some people may need to tell others as a form of motivation or support so they can keep up with what ever life change they’re trying to undergo.
The important takeaway is that big lifestyle changes like quitting smoking or going to the gym take discipline and there may be things hindering your progress that you may not expect.
But hey, doing things to change your life for the better isn’t easy and sometimes getting over the line may involve not telling anyone you’re doing anything at all.