Why I Stay Quiet on Goals, Until They Transpire

I generally avoid sharing goals. I’m terrible at committing to a goal publicly. But otherwise, I’ve accomplished quite a few goals on my own, without needing to be held accountable to anyone in particular. There were times where I felt rushed to achieve a goal as soon as other people were clued into what I was doing (mostly because people are excited, and ahhh!). And, now I’m actively keeping people out of my business, unless they happen to be mentors or people generating some of the results I’m looking for in the same fields.

I don’t know if it has to do with anything on a subconscious level (probably), but as soon as I announce to the world that I’m working on a project, something always ends up derailing my progress (usually my health and poor support system and it ping-ponging back and forth). It’s almost as if announcing anything publicly serves more as a distraction than building momentum. And yet, I sometimes make the same mistake of prematurely announcing goals, as if they’ve already occurred… and I think I know why. I’m usually attached to the outcome in some sort of way, so instead of it organically manifesting, I end up rushing the process or experiencing major blocks and having to explain myself to others.

While I was contemplating my relationship with announcing goals publicly, I also thought, hmmm… this tends to be the mode of other creators in general, too. You typically don’t know what content people will put out until they hit “Publish”.

It’s been on my mind lately, as people have been curious about what it is exactly that I do, lol. I’m in my early retirement phase, a.k.a. the “tirement” phase. I’ve quit being an employee since… 2016. And in the meantime, I’ve published a bunch of random content… books, blog posts, music, videos, podcasts (speaking of which, I’m featuring in a podcast soon– and I can say that because it’s already been edited 😉). I’ve performed, taught, held mini workshops or co-creative sessions, streamed… I’ve spoken up about the mental health system and have been visible in a weird intersection of niches (gaming, music, mental health, personal growth, and the YouTube/TikTok communities– the oddest place that I’ve been noticed was in the chat of a Dr. K livestream). The closest label I’ve come up with to describing myself is inte(r)n(a)tional artist (if you take away the “r” and “a”, it becomes “intentional”), because I’m not just a content creator, and I don’t necessarily identify as an influencer, and I’m not just a music artist, and I don’t just have random 2AM philosophical ramblings with unconventional folks, sooo… That’s the chosen label! It’s kind of my lifestyle anyway, if not my career.

I used to have a hard time explaining what I do, and depending on who I talk to, it’s still sometimes odd. But… typically, I just simplify it and say that I do music, and then I maybe show them my page or tell them about the latest song/event I did. Though lately, I’ve also been contemplating replying to the work question with, “I don’t work, I live/play”. (I already kind of say this to people in the personal development sphere, heh.) Most of what I would consider “work” are health-related issues that I’m trying to resolve more permanently, as well as any serious lack in my support system. I think people would consider my seemingly time abundant lifestyle to be a luxury, lol. Nah, it’s a necessity, especially in regards to my health. I had to compromise a fair bit to not succumb to the typical pressures of a consumerist society. Not that I’m purely against materialism or that I don’t find any value in it. Obviously, I’m fascinated with technology and many… odd things. But, most people would not have been able to tolerate the stuff I’ve been through since quitting the employee world. On top of somehow pursuing some of my experiential goals in life, I had to navigate psychosis under the mental health system and an unstable support system. Not to mention, I’m pretty sure that I’m highly sensitive to antipsychotics or something, because I had no sense of enjoyment in anything for years, and somehow stayed mentally strong enough to not self-destruct (but that’s a topic for another day).

I’ve been asking myself this again recently, what is the point of publicly announcing goals, and is there any real benefit? Maybe generating hype or excitement… otherwise, I typically don’t feel more motivated or anything like this. I generally find public opinion to be distracting anyway.

In recent months, I’ve been catching myself prematurely announcing goals, mostly because I was frustrated and was somewhat trying to plan around things quickly. My concern is… valid. But, I’m also trying to think ahead to what I ultimately want to experience, and trying not to lock into anything so impulsively. I know what happened the last time, and I don’t want a repeat of that, so…

That’s basically why I don’t share what I’m actively working on. I usually wait until I reach the final stages before announcing anything. And while most people assume or imagine that I live some luxurious lifestyle, lol, I wish? I tend to be ruthlessly frugal in regards to time/energy/money for things that I don’t care about, and “lavish” for the types of experiences I’m highly invested in. So, it may appear that way. But don’t be mistaken, I’m always working on something, whether you experience/see the results first-hand or not. I think judging a person based on surface-level progress is short-sighted, anyway. So, perhaps announcing lofty goals is just feeding into that arrogant mentality of hustle culture. Yeah, I’d rather not. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I’d much rather people work on and take care of themselves. Hopefully one day, society catches up and learns to see the value in just being a decent citizen (based on character/values), and not just an arbitrary bullet point list of accomplishments on paper.