說出來的目標都是扯淡：實現目標的驚人方式

Everyone has a huge personal goal they want to accomplish--a big, challenging, amazing goal. They think about it, dream about it, obsess about it... but they never accomplish it.
每個人都有一個夢想達成的個人目標——一個遠大的、具有挑戰性的、驚人的目標。他們對此朝思暮想、輾轉反側、爲之入迷……但是，他們從來都未能達成這個目標。

That could be because they also talk about it.
這也許是因爲他們總是在談論自己的目標。

According to studies like this one, people who talk about their intentions are less likely to follow through on those intentions.
研究表示，那些總是談論自己想法的人更不容易踐行這些想法。

Say you want to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail, a grueling five- to seven-month trek from Georgia to Maine.
假設你想去阿巴拉契亞山道遠足，這是一段長達5到7個月，從喬治亞州到緬因州的長途旅程。

You're having dinner with friends, and you tell them about it.
你和朋友吃飯時，告訴了他們這個想法。

"Oh, wow!" one exclaims. "That sounds amazing. But won't it be super hard?"
“哇哦！”一位朋友驚呼，“聽上去太棒了！但一定會非常困難吧？”

Indeed it will, you say, and you share what you know about tent sites, shelters, too-occasional showers, and the cool trail name you'll get.
當然是的，你說，然後你又分享了一些你知道的有關駐紮帳篷、庇護所、時不時遇到的陣雨以及那些你將經過的很酷的路線名字的信息。

It's fun. It feels awesome to bask in the glow of people who admire you for wanting to take on such a huge challenge.
那很有趣。沐浴在人們因爲你將接受如此巨大的考驗而投來的崇拜眼神中的感覺相當好。

It feels like you're already on the Trail.
那種感覺就像是你已經在路上了一樣。

It also means you're less likely to actually be on the Trail someday, because "when other people take notice of an individual's identity-related behavioral intention, this gives the individual a premature sense of possessing the asPired-to identity."
那也意味着你不太可能在某天真的踏上這段旅程了，因爲“當人們注意到個人與認同相關的行爲意圖，這將給這個個體一種已經擁有這種期望意圖的假象”。

In short, you already got a kick out of people thinking of you as a Trail hiker... so now you're less motivated to actually be a Trail hiker.
簡單來說，你已經從被看作一個長途旅行者中獲得了極大的快感……因此你真的去做一個長途旅行者的動力就削弱了。

Sounds counterintuitive, right? Aren't we supposed to share our intentions so other people can help support and motivate us?
聽上去有些違反直覺，對吧？難道我們不應該分享我們的想法，以便於別人能更好地給我們提供幫助和激勵嗎？

According to NYU psychologist Peter Gollwitzer, that's not the case.
根據紐約大學的心理學家Peter Gollwitzer的觀點，事實並非如此。

Gollwitzer thinks the issue lies in our sense of identity. Each of us wants to be certain things, and we naturally declare those intentions, even if we have not yet become those things. (Check out Twitter profiles bios if you don't believe me--tons of people are motivated, innovative, creative, passionate, and unique gurus, ninjas, and connoisseurs.)
Gollwitzer認爲問題的關鍵在於我們的認同感。我們每個人都對自己有某種期望，我們自然地會向別人說出我們的想法，即使我們還沒有做到。（你要是不相信我就去看看Twitter上的那些個人信息吧——一大堆的人號稱自己目標明確、有創新思想、創造力強、熱情十足或者是某方面的大師、忍者或者鑑賞家。）

Describing how I plan to run a marathon, and how I bought running shoes and joined a gym and created a training plan, certainly makes me feel good... but it also makes me feel like I'm already part of the way there even though I haven't trained at all.
描述我如何爲跑馬拉松做準備，如何買跑鞋、去健身房、制定訓練計劃，這當然會使我感覺良好……但那也會令我覺得我好像已經快成功了，雖然事實上我根本沒開始訓練。

Declaring what we want to be and how we will get there causes us to somehow feel we are farther along the path of becoming who we want to be, and therefore less motivated--even though we've actually done nothing but talk.
大聲宣佈我們要做什麼，以及我們將要如何實現它會使我們感到我們已經走在了向目標逼近的路上。因此也減少了努力的動力——儘管我們除了動嘴皮子什麼都還沒做。

So try it. Pick a goal. Create a plan to achieve it. Then keep your goal and your plan to yourself. Focus solely on doing the work required to achieve your goal.
所以試試吧，選擇一個目標，制定一項實現它的計劃。不要告訴任何人。將注意力全部放在實現這個目標的行動上。

Then, when you do, feel free talk all you want. You've earned it.
然後，等你真正做到的時候，盡情地和別人談論它吧。這是你應得的。