How Others Help You Reach Your Goals

April 26, 2025 Cathleen Zahradnik

“So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.”1 Thessalonians 5:11 NLT

Who helps you grow, my friend? Is there anyone in your life that you trust enough to tell you the truth?

I have a few friends that I know will tell me the truth about myself. They have invested in me, and I in them. We have spent enough time with each other to know each other well. We have gone through challenges and celebrations together. I am grateful for friends like that, but I have learned that those kinds of relationships are not just a blessing. They are essential.

None of us can truly accomplish anything on our own. Even though we may think we do. We need other people to help us become the person God designed us to be. He made us that way. We are created to need each other. Achieving your goals requires other people.

You need a teacher. A teacher shows you what to do. It may be someone with a free YouTube channel, or you may pay for a particular course of action. It may be a friend who is a few steps ahead on the journey or a skilled neighbor who invites you to shadow them and learn. You don’t know what you don’t know until you begin to learn. That’s been my experience.

I’m grateful for all the people who have made their knowledge available through the Internet. But I am most grateful for people who’ve been willing to share their knowledge and experience. Those relationships have been a treasure. We may not have become close friends, but they have deeply impacted me and guided me with their skill. I will always think of them and smile.

You need an encourager. There are several people who have continued to encourage me in my writing journey. They have believed in me and voiced their excitement or commented on things I have written.

You Really Do Need People. And They Need You.

November 23, 2024 Cathleen Zahradnik

“Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” Hebrews 10:24-25 NLT

I am a people-oriented introvert. I love people. I enjoy being around people, but social interaction is draining to an introvert. After a while, I just need some quiet alone time. If you are a task-oriented introvert, you may love people but focus more on getting stuff done. Either way, when you have reached your limit, you need to retreat just like me.

If you are an extrovert, being with people fills you up. You can be with people all day long and feel energized. You could be a people-oriented extrovert or a task-oriented extrovert. Either way, you don’t need the same kind of alone time that we introverts need. Viva la difference!

So, where am I going with this little personality lesson? I’ve learned that even as an introvert I need the people of God, and they need me. The same is true for you.

Both introverts and extroverts are called to love and serve people. I recently attended a conference where I knew a lot of people. However, I went alone, not with a group.

Go Further With Friends

October 7, 2023 Cathleen Zahradnik

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other. John 15:16-17 NIV

Who are your closest friends? Have you ever thought about how those friends influence you? Well, they do! I have some friends who motivate me and keep me on track just by being their wonderful selves. Their forward progress inspires me to keep going and keep reaching for the goals that I believe God wants me to achieve. My friends help me go further.

Whether you recognize it or not, your friends help you go further, too. How do friendships help you achieve your goals?

Friends keep you accountable. We all veer off course from time to time. It’s a fact. We need people who can see what we don’t see to help us get back on track. Friends help us do that. Sometimes they help us do that by calling us out when they see us drifting. But most often, our friends help us stay on track by reminding us of what is important. Just their presence in our lives and the time we spend together reminds us of what we want and what is important to us. That helps us stay on track. Want to accomplish those goals? Schedule regular times with your friends!

August 8, 2026

A - C = P: Anxiety - Control = Peace (Repost)

'Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. ‘Philippians 4:6-7 MSG

I was listening to a podcast when I heard a quote that brought so much clarity, I couldn’t get it out of my head. Here it is: “Anxiety results from wanting to control something God has not given us to control.” I didn’t remember the name of the person or why she was on the podcast, but what she said made so much practical sense. (I looked it up later. So, if you are interested, it was Joanna Weaver’s podcast, The Living Room, and the guest was Sharon Hodde Miller, author of The Cost of Control: Why We Crave It, the Anxiety It Gives Us, and the Real Power God Promises Us.) As I pondered her statement, a formula took shape in my brain, “A – C = P,” Anxiety – Control = Peace. Easy to remember and a goal worth aiming for.

Anxiety is something we all experience. Anxiety steals peace and commands focus. Whether it’s something personal about your family, or a job, or something broader like politics and the world situation, anxiety creeps up behind us, leaps upon us and gets us in a stranglehold. Ever feel that way?

Your brain goes in circles, trying to resolve something you are powerless to resolve. You can’t sleep and every waking moment is consumed with mental and practical fruitless attempts to solve the problem. Suddenly, it seems like nothing else is happening in your life. What started as a thought becomes a huge shadow. What do you do?