Keep It Quiet: Why You Shouldn't Share Your Project Until You Make Progress

1. Early Feedback Can Be Misleading

When you share your project idea too soon, you’re likely to get a lot of feedback. Some of it might be helpful, but much of it can be confusing, discouraging, or irrelevant. At the early stage, your idea is still forming, and hearing too many opinions might lead you to doubt your vision. Worse, others might give advice that doesn’t align with your goals. This can lead to changing your direction too soon or abandoning the project altogether.

Solution:

• Wait until you’ve made significant progress before asking for feedback.

• When you do seek input, reach out to a few trusted individuals who understand your vision and can offer constructive advice.

2. Talking About It Can Steal Your Motivation

It might seem counterintuitive, but talking about your project before making real progress can reduce your motivation. Psychologists suggest that discussing your goals publicly can give you a premature sense of accomplishment. Your brain feels rewarded just by talking about the project, which might decrease your drive to actually do the work.

Solution:

• Keep your plans to yourself in the early stages to maintain your internal motivation.

• Channel your excitement into taking action and making real progress before sharing with others.

3. Ideas Are Fragile in the Beginning

When you first come up with an idea, it’s often fragile. It’s easy to feel protective of your project when it’s in its early stages. Sharing your idea too soon opens it up to criticism or skepticism, which can cause self-doubt. Others may not fully understand the potential of your idea yet because they haven’t seen the bigger picture that you have in mind.

Solution:

• Give yourself time to develop and strengthen your idea before sharing it with others.

• Use the early stage to experiment, test your idea, and build confidence in your project.

4. Building Momentum Requires Focus

Making progress on any project requires focus and dedication. When you talk about your project too early, you risk getting distracted by others' opinions and doubts. Sharing your idea prematurely can also shift your focus away from the work itself and toward managing expectations or explaining your concept repeatedly.

Solution:

• Focus on building momentum by setting clear, achievable goals.

• Stay committed to making progress, and only share your idea when you have something tangible to show.

5. Protect Your Confidence

Starting something new can be intimidating, and your confidence can be shaken easily in the early stages. Negative feedback or skepticism from others might make you question your abilities or the worth of your idea. By keeping your project private, you protect your confidence while you build it up through early successes and progress.

Solution:

• Keep your confidence strong by focusing on what you’ve accomplished so far.

• Share your project when you feel confident and ready to handle any feedback that comes your way.

6. Let Your Work Speak for Itself

When you’ve made significant progress, your work will speak louder than any explanation you can give. Showing results, whether it’s a prototype, a working model, or even early outcomes, can generate more excitement and positive feedback than just talking about your idea. People are more likely to support and believe in a project that has already taken shape.

Solution:

• Prioritize taking action over talking. Focus on completing key milestones before sharing your project.

• When you finally reveal your project, let the work itself impress people rather than relying on a sales pitch.

Conclusion

While it’s tempting to share your project idea right away, there are strong reasons to hold off until you’ve made progress. By keeping it quiet, you protect your motivation, avoid unnecessary distractions, and build confidence in your idea. The next time you start a project, remember that staying focused and letting your work speak for itself can lead to greater success in the long run.

Resources

Baumeister, R. F., Vohs, K. D., & Tice, D. M. (2007). The strength model of self-control. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16(6), 351-355. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2007.00534.x

Gollwitzer, P. M. (2012). Mindset theory of action phases. In P. A. M. Van Lange, A. W. Kruglanski, & E. T. Higgins (Eds.), Handbook of theories of social psychology (pp. 526-545). Sage.

Sivers, D. (2010). Keep your goals to yourself. TED. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com