Go Public! Share Your Goals With The World

This is a guest post by Jo Walters of 250 Things While I’m 25.

On my 25th birthday I decided to spend the whole of the next year coming up with, and doing, 250 random things. I wanted to have some interesting stories to tell, to try new things and force myself to get off my sofa once in a while, so I came up with my silly challenge…

Over the next few weeks I created a list which grew as I sent it to friends and family (some of whom were all to eager to suggest some bizarre and potentially embarrassing things!). I also started trying to keep track of everything I was supposed to do and had done (plus the ones I’m too afraid to do). Keeping a blog seemed like the easiest way to update people on what I’ve been up to and hey presto, 250 Things While I’m 25 was born.

Initially I thought the blog would just be a handy way to keep everything in one place but it has turned out to be one of the best bits of my silly project. Publicly announcing my challenge, including posting the full list online, has become the biggest incentive to keep going and to actually do the things on my list.

I suffer from newprojectitis and usually lurch from one new shiny thing (fortnight long interest in photography) to another (cushion-making business?!) as the novelty wears off, so keeping a public blog has forced me to stick with my challenge, because I know people are watching. As my friends, family and colleagues know about my blog, I’d have to explain any lapse in my efforts. Even those unknown people who visit and follow my challenge keep me on my toes.

Knowing I’ll have to blog about my list exploits also means I can’t cheat (well, not as much as I would do if it was a secret). Though my rules clearly state that it’s my challenge so my rules, I know that any blatant squirming out of a list item will be noticed and I’ll be called out. Thus ‘I couldn’t be bothered’ isn’t really a good enough excuse. Some of my followers have been all too happy to heckle me via my blog or in person if they think I’m not trying hard enough. Even if I don’t agree with them it is useful to examine the reasons for my actions.

Another bonus of keeping a blog throughout my challenge (apart from the fact that it means I can tick another thing off my list) is that I’m building up a great memento of the things I’ve done (and proof of some of the weirder ones). Seeing my achievements build up is really rewarding, a great incentive to keep going and it’s something to be proud of.

If you’ve got a goal you want to achieve, you might find that making some form of public declaration, and publicizing your intentions and progress, is handy. What do you think? How could you use a public blog to help you stick to your goals? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

This post ticks another thing off my list – have a guest post published. Thanks James! Now I just have to go and blog about it…