Withholding Good News Can Backfire

The idea for this came from the article in the Journal of Personality about how withholding good news can backfire. And for a lot of us introverts it stems from the fear of bragging, taking up time on things that are not important. Essentially we don’t think people would care really about the news.

The problem with that is it can hurt your relationship with a person, especially if they are close to you. They may feel devalued or not as important to you. They might actually feel like they may not trust you. Especially if you only really tell them about the bad stuff in your life. So you are only there to be used when they feel bad and want to feel better.

On the other side, most people don’t see most sharing as bragging. As people who care about you they will want to celebrate the good news with you. So remember this next time you have anything good happen in your life. Let the important people in your life know about. It doesn’t have to be a huge production, but the sharing will bring you closer.