An Ocean of Compassion … for Me and for You
An Ocean of Compassion … for Me and for You

This week, our month’s theme of mindfulness brings us to the topic of self-compassion. And we can think of no better source to rely on for wisdom and advice on this subject than Dr. Kristin Neff, co-founder of the Center for Mindful Self-Compassion.

“Having compassion for oneself is really no different than having compassion for others,” Dr. Neff says.

Self-compassion is a component of self-love, where we recognize our own worth and value and extend kindness to ourselves as we would extend it to others. Show YOURSELF some compassion today.

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MindfulnessKristi HornerSelf-Compassion
Self-Regulation Helps Us Put Our Best Selves Forward
Self-Regulation Helps Us Put Our Best Selves Forward

Our new theme for this month is mindfulness, and our topic to kick it off is self-regulation. We talk a lot about mindfulness at Courage to Caregivers. Being mindful and keeping ourselves connected to the present moment means that we are better able to regulate our emotions and stay in control.

For caregivers, that’s important. Sometimes, we get overwhelmed by things around us that are out of our control. There’s so much to do, and nothing we do seems to be good enough. This feeling can happen all at once, or it can creep up on us slowly.

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MindfulnessKristi HornerSelf-Regulation
February Newsletter: Finding Yourself Again ... The Journey of Self-Discovery
February Newsletter: Finding Yourself Again ... The Journey of Self-Discovery

In my most active caregiving days, I felt as if I had lost myself - who I was at my very core. Throughout February, as we explored our theme of Self-Discovery, we dug deep to identify our strengths and opportunities for growth, developed our understanding of self-confidence and worked hard on our self-love.

When I think about who has helped me with my own journey of self-discovery, that's right, you guessed it, the work of Brené Brown has been like having a personal life coach. She's taught me to cultivate courage and live my most authentic self. This is HARD!

Check out our February Newsletter focused on SELF-DISCOVERY here.

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Self-Discovery, NewslettersKristi HornerStrengths, Self-Confidence, Opportunity, Self-Love
January Newsletter: You can be a dreamer ... and a doer, too!
January Newsletter: You can be a dreamer ... and a doer, too!

Under our theme of DREAM BIG this month, we started with our vision for ourselves. Our vision clarifies our values and includes goals around those values. We explored creating your personal timeline, identifying your core values and personal mission statement, as well as focusing on what brings you joy.

It turns out that VISION is the most important domain of resilience. This is because all the other domains focus on what you want to achieve, and you can't take action to achieve something without a VISION!

Are you a dreamer? (I am!) Dreaming is all about envisioning a way forward. Looking ahead at the person you aspire to be. It requires digging deep and sometimes being vulnerable. It can be scary and exciting at the same time.

With YOUR vision for YOUR life, you know where you are headed. It's literally your roadmap for this journey of life.

Check out our January Newsletter focused on DREAMING BIG here.

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Dream Big, NewslettersKristi HornerDream Big, Personal Timeline, Personal Mission Statement, Values, What Brings You Joy?, Micro-Joy, Goals
Courage from the Past to Set Goals for the Future
Courage from the Past to Set Goals for the Future

A personal timeline can serve as a guide for setting goals, and that just happens to be our first weekly topic of the new year, as part of this month’s theme: Dream BIG. Organizing your experiences by creating a personal timeline of your past is an exercise that allows you to see the positive and negative flow of your life on one page. Your timeline is unique to you and shows a series of events, circumstances, and choices that have impacted your life.

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Dream BigKristi HornerDream Big, Personal Timeline
Your outlook on life starts by looking WITHIN!
Your outlook on life starts by looking WITHIN!

We often think of our OUTLOOK on life as looking outwards or looking at our prospects for the future. What if we started by looking WITHIN ourselves? With mindfulness, YOU can cultivate the outlook YOU desire.

Throughout December we looked at the theme of outlook through the lens of 1) having a hope-centered mindset; 2) opportunity and possibility; and 3) celebrating your successes.

Your outlook is connected to your resilience. You CAN grow your hope and develop a more positive outlook - you can CHOOSE the mindset you're going to use. Having a growth mindset reminds us that anything is possible ... and that's worth celebrating!

Check out our December Newsletter focused on OUTLOOK here.

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OutlookKristi HornerHope, Opportunity, Possibility, Celebrate Success, Outlook
Get Unstuck, and Pursue Your Possibilities
Get Unstuck, and Pursue Your Possibilities

Here’s a favorite recipe of mine that’s great not only during the holiday season, but any time of the year: Take an open mind, add a dash of positivity, and top it off with a whole lot of growth mindset. What you get is a big bowl full of opportunity and unlimited possibility.

As caregivers, we can sometimes feel that our possibilities are limited and our growth opportunities are nonexistent. This can make us feel stuck … like our caregiving is holding us back from the things that could help us achieve our goals, pursue our dreams, and make our lives better.

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OutlookKristi HornerOpportunity, Possibility, Open-Mindedness, Positivity, Growth Mindset
Empower Yourself on Your Hope Journey
Empower Yourself on Your Hope Journey

With the new year just a few weeks away, now is a great time to discuss this week’s topic: hope. It’s no coincidence that our thoughts and celebrations during this time of year tend to focus on better things to come. We make goals and resolutions for the new year and are eager to put the struggles of the last year behind us. Our hope helps us put everything into perspective, motivates us to move forward, and reminds us that personal growth is possible.

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OutlookKristi HornerHope
Collaboration ... We are Better TOGETHER - November 2021 Newsletter
Collaboration ... We are Better TOGETHER - November 2021 Newsletter

As human beings, we are hard-wired to connect - for COLLABORATION. Our brains have a NEED to connect with others in order to THRIVE.

Collaboration also can help caregivers move from SURVIVAL mode to THRIVAL mode.

THRIVAL is defined in the urban dictionary as "looking beyond your soul into the deepness of society's problems; sacrificing yourself and going beyond one's comfort zone in order to help the people around you."

I've met a lot of caregivers over the years - all of them are on a journey ... and it is definitely one of THRIVAL. But at Courage to Caregivers, we recognize that you may feel as though you’re languishing when you start out on your journey. That’s why we’ve added the concept of self-care to our own definition of THRIVAL. Our programs work to support caregivers in THRIVING, too.

Join us and find out how you, too, can move from languishing to flourishing - it's possible to THRIVE as a caregiver.

Read the full newsletter here.

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CollaborationKristi HornerForgiveness, Gratitude, Collaboration, Support Network, Managing Perceptions, Compare, Compare and Despair
Together We Can Support Caregivers and Prevent Caregiver Burnout - #GivingTuesday
Together We Can Support Caregivers and Prevent Caregiver Burnout - #GivingTuesday

Courage to Caregivers continues to help people like Ericka, Meg, Mellissa, Janelle and Ed because of the generosity of donors like you. YOU help to illuminate the HOPE that Ed now sees for caregivers everywhere. YOUR support makes the journey toward wholeness for participants like Ericka possible. YOUR encouragement builds stronger healthier families like Meg’s. YOUR donation assures we can continue our Peer Support program for Janelle and Mellissa. YOU are an integral part of the team for caregivers everywhere.

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Kristi Horner#GivingTuesday, Donate, Make an Inspiring Impact
Forgive the Bad and Appreciate the Good
Forgive the Bad and Appreciate the Good

We have two topics this week, and they’re often considered to be opposites, but they’re really both forms of kindness and self-empowerment. Forgiveness is about being kind, making peace with life when we don’t get what we want, allowing ourselves to be vulnerable, remembering that we all fail at times, and retelling our story with us as the hero instead of the victim. Gratitude is recognizing the good things that happen and appreciating the gifts that we are given.

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CollaborationKristi HornerForgiveness, Gratitude
Look Inside – How Are Your Perceptions Doing Today?
Look Inside – How Are Your Perceptions Doing Today?

As caregivers, we can be hypersensitive about perceptions. How do others perceive our loved one, and how do they perceive us? How do we perceive them, and how do we perceive ourselves? Our perceptions are the lenses through which we all view the world, and if negative perceptions are left unchallenged, whether they’re our own or someone else’s, they can lead to failure or heartache.

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CollaborationKristi HornerManaging Perceptions
With a Support Network, You’re Never Alone
With a Support Network, You’re Never Alone

As we turn the calendar to November, we begin National Family Caregivers Month, a month that celebrates YOU – the unpaid family caregiver. At Courage to Caregivers, you are our “WHY” – why we do what we do – providing hope, support, and courage to caregivers of those living with mental illness. And that leads right into our topic for this week – support network – as part of this month’s theme of collaboration.

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CollaborationKristi HornerSupport Network