Outlook — Blog — Courage to Caregivers

Think of the Opportunities; Imagine the Possibilities

“If you embrace possibility thinking, your dreams will go from molehill to mountain size, and because you believe in possibilities, you put yourself in position to achieve them.” ~ John Maxwell

We asked our participants this week, “What’s your favorite part of winter?” We heard everything from the glistening of new fallen snow to getting cozy with a warm beverage to new beginnings. I LOVE thinking about winter as a new beginning – a fresh start!

And a fresh start means new opportunities and possibilities. This topic is one of my favorites because both opportunity and possibility expand on the growth mindset and on HOPE. Having a growth mindset allows us to pursue the opportunities of today – and tomorrow – with limitless possibilities and hope for the future.

OutlookKristi HornerDecember 19, 2024Opportunity, Possibility

Stay Calm, and Stay in Control

“Inner peace begins the moment you choose not to allow another person or event to control your emotions.” – Pema Chödrön

So much of what we talk about at Courage to Caregivers revolves around control – recognizing what we can and can’t control, and having the courage to act on those things we can control to empower our self-growth. With all the chaos that typically surrounds a caregiver’s life, it may seem that we don’t have much control over our ability to find inner peace or inner calm. But as the quote above states, inner peace is indeed under our control.

Inner calm is a choice we make when we decide to regain control of our emotions and limit the stress we feel from external forces. We know that we can’t always control external events or how others behave, but we can control our own reactions to them. By choosing not to let outside influences dictate our emotions, we empower ourselves to maintain our balance and serenity, or peace and calm, even in the most challenging situations.

OutlookKristi HornerDecember 12, 2024Inner Calm, Inner Peace

Let Your Hope Keep You Grounded

“In a way, life is a constant process of supersurvival, of facing life’s seemingly impossible choices with honesty and faith in ourselves. It’s a capacity all of us share. It’s the capacity to hope.”

– from Supersurvivors by David Feldman and Lee Daniel Kravetz

I read Supersurvivors by David Feldman and Lee Daniel Kravetz this year, and it was a very inspiring read. Supersurvival refers to our ability to endure life’s most challenging moments, not just by surviving, but by finding meaning, growth, and purpose beyond the hardship. The quote above emphasizes the resilience, inner strength, and courage that our capacity to hope gives us when we face adversity.

OutlookKristi HornerDecember 5, 2024Hope

Possibilities to Pursue, and Opportunities to Succeed

“Turn your obstacles into opportunities and your problems into possibilities.”

– Roy T. Bennett, The Light in the Heart

Last week, we talked about how we all have a choice in the way we respond to stress – we can either let it get the best of us, or we can have the courage to tackle it head on with our best coping strategies. This week’s topic, opportunity and possibility, also relates to the choices we make. As the quote above implies, our choices and our positive mindset can determine whether something is an obstacle or an opportunity, a problem or a possibility.

OutlookKristi HornerDecember 21, 2023Opportunity, Possibility

It Takes Just a Few Moments to Find Your Inner Calm

As caregivers, we know how things can change from relative peace to chaos in the blink of an eye. But did you know that the opposite can be true, as well? With a little courage and mindfulness, we can disrupt the chaos, tap into our inner calm, and gain the strength we need to manage the stress of daily life.

Collaboration, OutlookKristi HornerDecember 13, 2023Inner Peace, inner calm

Be a Hope Seeker and a Hope Giver

OutlookKristi HornerDecember 6, 2023Hope

December Newsletter: Your outlook on life starts by looking within!

"It's about your outlook towards life. You can regret or rejoice." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

We often think of our OUTLOOK on life as looking outward or looking at our prospects for the future. What if instead 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!

Your outlook is likely ever changing or evolving. If you've always wondered - are you an optimist, pessimist, realist or opportunist, here's a link to a fun (quick) quiz that might give you some insight into your outlook!

Check out the entire December newsletter focused on our theme of Outlook here.

OutlookKristi HornerDecember 28, 2022Hope, Opportunity, Possibility, Celebrate Success

Celebrating Our Material and Non-Material Successes

This week’s topic involves a subject that is different for everyone. We all have our own ideas of what success looks like -- whether it’s material possessions, professional accolades, or financial security – or non-material things such as accomplishing daily tasks while struggling emotionally, courageously trying new things in spite of anxiety, resisting temptation while battling addiction, or mastering a new skill. Whatever success is for you, we’re celebrating that success.

OutlookKristi HornerDecember 21, 2022Celebrate Success

Providing an Open Environment to Reimagine the Possibilities

When thinking about this week’s subject, opportunity and possibility, I was reminded of something we recently experienced at Courage to Caregivers. It involved reframing, pivoting, and reimagining our possibilities to turn them into a new opportunity to support unpaid family caregivers to prevent burnout.

OutlookKristi HornerDecember 14, 2022Opportunity, Possibility

“You Can Get There from Here”

Hope helps us create a vision for the future and motivates us to take action on things we can control. In other words, as stated by Rick Snyder, the developer of Hope Theory, “Hope means … you can get there from here.”

You can be a hope model, too, for others and for YOU.

OutlookKristi HornerDecember 8, 2022Hope

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.

OutlookKristi HornerDecember 30, 2021Hope, Opportunity, Possibility, Celebrate Success, Outlook

Celebrate YOU Today! 🎉

We’re proud to be part of their success stories, and I hope you take pride in all that you’ve done, too. Whether big or small, your accomplishments have required hard work and sacrifice. You set a goal, you persevered, and you grew. You couldn’t have done it without YOU.

OutlookKristi HornerDecember 23, 2021Celebrate Success, Personal Growth

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.

OutlookKristi HornerDecember 16, 2021Opportunity, Possibility, Open-Mindedness, Positivity, Growth Mindset

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.

OutlookKristi HornerDecember 9, 2021Hope