Goals Out Loud: Telling Others About a Goal Increases Support Received and Facilitates Goal Pursuit

Four longitudinal studies (N = 1,035) examined whether telling others about personal goals enhances goal support received, goal pursuit effort, and goal progress. In Study 1, participants nominated a personal goal and 1 week later reported whether they had shared this goal during the week. Goal disclosure predicted more support received from others and greater goal pursuit effort. In Studies 2 and 3, participants assigned to share a goal in the coming week later reported receiving more support from others, which in turn was linked to greater goal pursuit effort and progress. In Study 4, participants were assigned either to share a goal with a person accompanying them at that moment or to keep it private; goal disclosure was again linked to goal pursuit effort, though not to support received. Together, these studies reveal the benefits of sharing goals and highlight the importance of considering the audience and manner of goal disclosure.