An interesting thing those pesky scientists do is challenge conventioanl wisdom.  I found this TED talk by Derek Sivers that challenges the conventional wisdom if telling people your goals so they can hold you accountable.  In my personal experience, I learned that I had a better chance of getting something done by keeping my mouth shut.  I quit smoking that way!  It felt much better announcing that I had quit rather than telling people I was going to quit. Now, at least science has something to say on the matter.  Here’s the video..take the 3 minutes or so and think about keeping your next goal a big secret!