We live in an era of oversharing. From broadcasting our breakfast on social media to venting about workplace drama, the boundary between public and private has heavily blurred. But true power often lies in what you choose not to say. Discretion is a rare currency that protects your peace of mind and preserves your personal boundaries. Some aspects of your life simply do not belong in the public domain. Here are ten things you are better off keeping entirely to yourself.
1. Your Big Goals
If you say you want to achieve something big, you begin to feel like you’re successful too early, which sometimes diminishes your motivation. If you are learning a new complex barbell movement or if you’re taking a big career step, work quietly. Let your work (not your words!) do the talking.
2. Your Good Deeds
No charity or kindness is authentic when it is used for a public relations campaign. When you do something nice for someone, give the thing for a cause, or do something for someone without pay, don’t make a lot of noise about it. When nobody’s looking, and nobody’s scoring, real integrity is practicing the right way.
3. Intimate Relationship Details
Your relationship is not a community project, but a personal one between you and one person. Private differences, confidences, or petty weaknesses shared in confidence and before outsiders are intrusions into trust and expose to unwarranted judgment. Save a relationship by sorting out your differences with your friends instead of taking them out.
4. Your Financial Status
Sharing your income, debt or investment portfolio isn’t a recipe for success. It generates envy or draws attention to itself in a negative way. Whether you’re rich or poor, it’s up to you to get it together. Avoid expectations, avoid awkwardness about financial information: Keep matters private!
5. Family Drama and Conflicts
All families have their problems and arguments. But if the dirt is aired abroad, the damage will be done and can never be corrected after the conflict is over. Keep your family’s information private and resolve family issues privately and graciously.
6. Other People’s Secrets
I think whenever they trust you, they give you a portion of their vulnerability. It’s not a reliable person when they use their personal information as social currency. No one owns a secret but it shouldn’t go out of its mouth!
7. Your Deepest Resentments
It’s hard enough to hold onto your grievances without sharing them with everyone you come in contact with. Often talking about the past hurts keeps you stuck in negative thinking and drains listeners’ patience. Learn to deal with the anger on your own, or with a professional, and limit your day-to-day interactions with others to positive action.
8. Specific Dietary Habits
No one likes to be lectured on your new diet program and why you can’t handle a meal such as a burger and fries. Don’t share your own views on food; they might not be relevant to the host and can come across as being preachy or restrictive.
9. Your Next Major Purchase
When you have to talk to someone about an upcoming big purchase, there are inevitably negative comments or asking questions about your finances. Individuals will ultimately make their judgments of how you spend your own funds based on their own thoughts and values. Shop and consume products on your own without peer approval or validation.
10. Unsolicited Opinions on Appearance
Keep your comments on their personal appearance to yourself if the person is not able to fix the problem in 10 seconds or less, such as removing spinach from their teeth. It’s extremely intrusive to comment on another person’s weight, clothing or aging. Better to have no words than to say something critical which is unnecessary.
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