Many studies have shown that by talking about your “dream goals” you are less likely to reach them

This is the premise of the book Rethinking Positive Thinking by @Gabriele Oettingen. She talks about it as “fooling our minds”.

Her solution is a process called WOOP which stands for Wish, Outcome, Obstacle and Plan, which is aimed at contrasting the desire with the practical pathway.

I think she’s on the right track. I also wrote this below — about the role of attention versus motivation.

The secret of writing every day is to not make a public declaration