When I did the Ironman last year, I told everyone about it: friends, family and co-workers. I did it on purpose. It was a risk I took, because would I have failed to prepare for the race or finish the race, everyone would have thought I'm a "looser" or "quitter". I used this fear as additional motivational fuel. Also, to my surprise, most people told me I'm an idiot for even attempting an Ironman and that I wouldn't be able to finish it. (Lesson learned: Culturally, here in Eastern Europe 'we' don't have the 'can do' attitude.) That was another huge boost, showing these people how limited their mindset is. It's kind of cheating, because you're using external factors to motivate you, but you need all the "help" to do extraordinary things.
Think of Ali when he was preparing for the Foreman fight --- he used an entire nation to motivate him for the Rumble in the Jungle. Whenever he got a chance, he went on TV and said he would destroy Foreman. He absolutely commited himself in front of the entire world and it worked for him. Foreman, on the other hand, was different, he was more introverted, and although he lost that fight, he was still a great boxer.
So, on a personal level, I strongly disagree with this article. I'd rather strive to be like Ali than accept some mediocre average.
I had a very similar reaction. I rode a century (100mi) bike ride this spring, and telling people I was doing it was an important part of staying motivated. Also, because the ride was a charity fundraiser, once I had people sponsoring me (i.e. donated money to the cause) I felt like I couldn't back out.
I think the difference between this sort of goal and what's described in the article is that with a lot of intellectual pursuits, just telling people that you've been thinking about it and sketching out how you would do it gets you 80% of the respect and satisfaction for 20% (or less) of the total effort. On the other hand, you don't get much cred for just saying you're going to do a marathon or tri or century.
I'm with you. When I announce to people that I am going to undertake a big challenge, part of the reason to do so is to put pressure on myself to complete the task. If you don't tell anyone, dropping out is easy -- there is no loss of face associated with it. When I started my grad school studies, not only did I announce it to my friends and family, I also started a blog -- not the same as Ali and the rumble, but still it involves putting a stake in the ground in a very public way. It forced me to give regular updates to my audience (and also keep my own studies moving forward) and avoid long stretches without any activity.
I don't think that article is really about Ironman-type goals, though. By the time you are preparing for the Ironman, I'd imagine that you would be quite dedicated to your training. As I understood it, that article is about goals which you have to start from scratch -- for example, choosing to start running and train for your first 5K race.
Think of Ali when he was preparing for the Foreman fight --- he used an entire nation to motivate him for the Rumble in the Jungle. Whenever he got a chance, he went on TV and said he would destroy Foreman. He absolutely commited himself in front of the entire world and it worked for him. Foreman, on the other hand, was different, he was more introverted, and although he lost that fight, he was still a great boxer.
So, on a personal level, I strongly disagree with this article. I'd rather strive to be like Ali than accept some mediocre average.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D5o-yxwBJuk