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.
每个人都有他自己想要完成的宏伟目标：富有挑战、惊喜的目标！他们思考、梦想、沉迷其中……但他们却从没实现过。
That could be because they also talk about it.
之所以会发生这样的事是因为他们谈论了他们的想法。
According to studies like this one, people who talk about their intentions are less likely to follow through on those intentions.
根据一项研究，探讨想法的人们不太可能会追寻他们的想法做出实践。
Say you want to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail, a grueling five- to seven-month trek from Georgia to Maine. (Having completed about 2% of it, I'm not so well on my way.)
比如说，你想要爬越阿巴拉契亚山脉，或是一段从乔治亚州到缅因州长达5到7个月的艰辛旅程。（我自己在这方面不是很强，只完成整个旅程的2%。）
You're having dinner with friends, and you tell them about it.
你和朋友们一起吃饭，你告诉了他们你的想法。
"Oh, wow!" one exclaims. "That sounds amazing. But won't it be super hard?"
其中一个人惊叫：“哇，太棒了！但是，这个会不会太难了？”
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.
完成它确实会很难，但你分享了你知道的事，比如搭帐篷、路上会遭遇到时不时的阵雨，以及各式有趣的小路。
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.
很有趣。被人们簇拥着，那感觉真好。他们羡慕你，因为他们也想经历这样惊险无限的挑战。
It feels like you're already on the Trail.
这让你感觉你已经在旅途上了。
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."
同时也意味着你不太可能会真的踏上旅途，因为“假如别人注意到了一个人身份--符合相关行为意图的身份时，这就让这个人产生了一种幻觉，他似乎已经成为了他渴求的那种人。”
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.
总而言之，你已经让人们觉得你是一位徒步旅行者了，所以现在你不再激励自己真的去徒步旅行了。
Sounds counterintuitive, right? Aren't we supposed to share our intentions so other people can help support and motivate us?
听起来不合常理是吗？分享我们的想法，这样别人才能帮助我们并激励我们，难道不是这样吗？
According to NYU psychologist Peter Gollwitzer, one of the authors of the study, that's not the case.
根据纽约大学（New York University）心理学家Peter Gollwitzer的说法，事实并非如此。
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认为这个问题源于我们的身份认同感。每个人都有自己想成为的偶像，我们会自然地表达出我们的想法，即使我们还没成为。（如果你不信，你可以上Twitter看一看，成千上万的积极上进、富有创意、热情的独一无二的大师和行家里手。）
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.
描述一下我打算怎么跑马拉松，我买了鞋参加了俱乐部，定了一个训练计划，这些当然会让我感觉良好。 同时它也让我感觉到我已经参与到马拉松赛跑中了，尽管我还做任何训练。
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.
宣告我们想要成为怎么样的人，我们怎么实现它，这些会使我们远离那条成就我们梦想的道路，然后我们就会懈怠--尽管我们什么都没做，只是说说。
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.
所以请这样一试。选一个目标。定一个可以实现它的计划。然后自己清楚目标和计划。专注做事来达成你的目标。
Then, when you do, feel free talk all you want. You've earned it.
其次，当你行动了，你可以自由讨论所有你想的。你值得拥有。
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