Having trouble with procrastination on a project or achieving a goal or breaking a habit? Try a public pronouncement.

Today in the Organize Or Agonize discussion board, Hannah asks:

Thanks Hannah, you have stumbled upon a very important self management concept. It’s called the law of public pronouncements.

Studies have shown that we internalize that which we announced to the world much more effectively.

Essentially it removes your hiding places. If you announced to the world that you are going to take on a new habit. The more people that kWe will work much harder to avoid pain than we ever would for pleasurenow about that the more likely that do have a will become internalized. It all has to do with psychological pain. It is very difficult to admit defeat and failure to others. We will work much harder to avoid pain than we ever would for pleasure.

One of my favorite books that gives me insight into how my little pea brain works is Robert Cialdini’s book, Influence, the new psychology of modern persuasion and on page 88 he weighs in with this tidbit: Whenever one takes a stand that is visible to others, there are arises a drive to maintain that stand in order to look like a consistent person. We all want to appear as having personal consistency, it is a very positive trait; how someone without it could be judged as fickle, uncertain, pliant, scatter brained, or unstable; how someone with it is viewed as rational, assured, trustworthy, and sound. Given this context, is hardly surprising that people try to avoid the look of inconsistency. For appearance’s sake, then, the more public a stand, the more reluctant we will be to change it.

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