The people you share your goals with is the area where you should be more careful.

According to recent research published in the Journal of Applied Psychology, sharing your goals leads to higher levels of commitment and performance. The main catch in this more recent study is that sharing your goals only helps you achieve greater commitment and performance when you’re sharing them with people you perceive as having greater status than yourself. The research suggests that it doesn’t help at all when you share your goals with those you see as having lower status than yourself. Likewise, the research contests previous research by claiming that keeping your goals to yourself isn’t helpful at all.

Howard Klein, the lead author of the newer study cites these newer findings as a reason to share your goals with people whose opinion matters to you. “Contrary to what you may have heard, in most cases you get more benefit from sharing your goal than if you don’t — as long as you share it with someone whose opinion you value,” Klein explains. The research explains that sharing your goals with those you perceive as having higher status than yourself motivates you to succeed for the simple reason that people care what people who they perceive as having a higher status think about them. It’s easier to be motivated when you’re seeking social elevation from people who you respect.