FEBRUARY 2026 Newsletter - SELF-DISCOVERY: Reflecting on Our Journeys

FEBRUARY THEME: Self-Discovery

“Finding oneself is a journey, not a destination.” — Unknown

In January, we discussed the power of setting intentions for who we want to be. Now at the end of February, we are well into our personal journeys of self-discovery. Some of us may be finding our paths as straightforward as we had hoped while others of us may be feeling challenged by the unexpected directions our roads are taking us. Wherever you may be on your journey, now is a great moment to pause and reflect.

As the quote states above, self-discovery is about the journey, not the destination. How have you grown in the last two months? Where do you hope to improve? Who has supported you? By taking a break to reflect, we can recognize our own inner strengths and treat ourselves with the self-compassion we need.

TOOLS FOR SELF-DISCOVERY

Be Compassionate Toward Yourself. While this is often easier said than done, remember that there are MANY ways to be compassionate toward yourself. Check out this toolkit for some suggestions!
Look for Joy in Your Life. Acknowledging joy in your life does not mean ignoring your pain or sadness. Rather, finding joy can mean recognizing the small and big things that boost your soul and encourage you to keep going even during challenging times.
Identify Your Strengths. We all have strengths that motivate us and help us through difficult dilemmas, but identifying them can be tricky. Sometimes just starting with the activities you enjoy or what others have complimented you on can be a good start.

Remember, you got this! Best wishes as you journey on! 💙

Check out the complete February 2026 Newsletter focused on Self-Discovery here.

Strength with a Purpose

“When you know your strengths, you know where you can be strong on purpose.”

— Marcus Buckingham

Caregiving is hard, but none of us comes to this journey empty-handed. We bring skills, values, and inner resources that help us navigate our challenges and achieve our goals. Identifying those strengths is part of self-discovery. When we slow down enough to understand who we are beneath our responsibilities, we gain clarity about what sustains us and what drains us. This knowledge helps us shift from surviving each day to caring with intention.

OCTOBER 2025 Newsletter: Finding the Courage Within Us

“Bravery is being unafraid of something other people are afraid of. Courage is being afraid, but strong enough to do it anyway.” ― Taylor Jenkins Reid, Atmosphere

It's no secret that the world can be scary. Whether our fears stem from issues on the global and national scale or from the seemingly little troubles in our days, we all know what it feels like to be afraid. So how can we have courage in a world that is frightening? As Taylor Jenkins Reid explores in her novel Atmosphere, courage does not have to mean the absence of fear. In fact, being courageous can be directly tied to our fear.

To be courageous, we have to first recognize a situation as calling the need for courage and that means acknowledging our fears. We can accept our fears of embarrassment and imperfection while also understanding that mistakes are opportunities for growth. It's okay to feel scared to say "no" to an invitation that does not fit our values or needs while simultaneously recognizing the importance of setting healthy boundaries. Courage is not the absence of our fears, but being able to live with them.

3 TOOLS TO DEVELOP COURAGE:

Notice and Accept Your Thoughts and Emotions - It is natural to feel scared, stressed, and overwhelmed at times. Life is hard and unexpected situations and events occur! There is no shame in experiencing emotions. What matters is what we do with them.
Embrace Your Fears and Share with Others - Recognize which of your fears are legitimate and which are unfounded. Remember, you are NOT alone. Find your community of support. Join our group coaching here!
Own Your Power and Choose Courage - Courage is something we can learn. Take stock of your strengths and room for growth and courageously take action. You got this!

Check out our October Newsletter focused on Courage here.

Choose Strength

"When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves."

~ Viktor E. Frankl

You have a power within you—to focus on challenges not as obstacles but as opportunities—to rise, to learn, and to find resilience. Caregivers can use this power to discover strength and wisdom through adversity, leaning into the hard moments to find new ways to adapt and overcome.

Although the weight of our responsibilities may feel overwhelming in those moments, we always have a choice to either let the stress hold us back or let the challenge make us stronger. Here's an affirmation to use when faced with such a choice:

🌟 “Each challenge I face is a chance to grow stronger.

I have the courage, wisdom, and resilience to keep moving forward.” 🌟

CourageKristi HornerOctober 9, 2025Strength Amidst Adversity, Strength, Strengths

OCTOBER 2024 Newsletter: Choose Courage

What comes to mind when you hear the word "COURAGE?" Do you think of larger-than-life figures? The battles and revolutions you studied in school? The brave actions that individuals and communities have taken across time to change the world? Courage is a term that we hear often, yet we struggle sometimes to attribute to ourselves.

However, this month, we recognized the big and small ways we can be courageous in our everyday lives. Whether it is through LEARNING from our mistakes, FINDING strength amidst adversity, CHOOSING progress over perfection, or SAYING no, we bring courage to ourselves as caregivers.

Brené Brown says it best in her book The Gifts of Imperfection: "The root of the word courage is cor – the Latin word for heart. In one of its earliest forms, the word courage had a very different definition than it does today. Courage originally meant ‘To speak one’s mind by telling all one’s heart.’

“Over time, this definition has changed, and today, courage is more synonymous with being heroic. Heroics is important and we certainly need heroes, but I think we’ve lost touch with the idea that speaking honestly and openly about who we are, about what we’re feeling, and about our experiences (good and bad) is the definition of courage. Heroics is often about putting our life on the line. Ordinary courage is about putting our vulnerability on the line. In today’s world that’s pretty extraordinary.”

3 TOOLS TO CULTIVATE COURAGE:

Notice and Accept Your Thoughts and Emotions - It is natural to feel scared, stressed, and overwhelmed at times. Life is hard, and unexpected situations and events can occur! There is no shame in experiencing emotions. What matters is what we do with them.
Embrace Your Fears, and Share with Others - Recognize which of your fears are legitimate and which are unfounded. Remember, you are NOT alone. Find your community of support. Join our group coaching here!
Own Your Power, and Choose Courage - Courage is something we can learn. Take stock of your strengths and room for growth, and courageously take action. You got this!

Check out our entire October newsletter focused on Courage here.

A Position of Strength

“The good life is using your signature strengths every day to produce authentic happiness and abundant gratification.” – Martin Seligman

As we focus on the theme of self-discovery this month, a key element in truly knowing ourselves is to identify our strengths. This is so important for caregivers because we often fail to recognize all of the strengths that we must draw upon as we focus on helping others. As a result, we can lose sight of ourselves, including all of our unique capabilities and strengths that lie at the core of who we are.

Self-DiscoveryKristi HornerFebruary 15, 2024Strength, Strengths, Identifying Your Strengths

Strength is for More Than Just Survival

Caregivers share many positive traits. Among these are strength, patience, tenacity, and courage. All of these help us respond to the unforeseen challenges that come our way along the road that is our life’s journey. They give us resilience and help us survive. But they also do much more than that … they help us GROW.

CourageKristi HornerOctober 14, 2021Strength Amidst Adversity, Strength