Boundaries — Blog — Courage to Caregivers

JUNE 2024 Newsletter: EMPOWERMENT ... You Have the Power in YOU 🙌🏻

Building on our recent themes of common humanity (as humans we all experience pain, suffering, and stress) and growth mindset (we have the ability to grow and learn) - the theme of EMPOWERMENT is nicely layered in. "There is no normal life that is free of pain. It's the very wrestling with our problems that can be the impetus for our growth." ~ Fred Rogers, The World According to Mister Rogers: Important Things to Remember.

You've heard us say before - we can't remove the stress of caregiving. What we CAN do is empower caregivers to better cope and manage the stress of caregiving. This empowerment is what makes our work sustainable! We believe in empowerment so much that it's one of our core values. We define empowerment as strengths-focused, valuing abilities, goals, and learning.

EMPOWERMENT is a process of BECOMING. WHO do you want to BE or become? WHAT do you want to achieve or accomplish? WHEN are you going to do that next right thing that sets you on the course of accomplishing your personal goals? What's your WHY - that reason you get up and out of bed each morning?

3 TOOLS FOR MANIFESTING EMPOWERMENT

MINDSET: What you THINK you BECOME! Notice - what is your current mindset? How do you feel about it? Do you want to make a change? You can SHIFT your mindset - make a list of your core values - how you want to BE and become - and set a goal (or two) towards pursuing those!
SELF-AWARENESS: A better understanding of yourself and what your needs are is an important component of becoming who you want to BE. Analyze your strengths and opportunities for growth. How do you want to grow and what can you learn? YOUR feelings are important - you are worthy of love and respect (too).
COMMUNITY: Find a community that cares - that lifts you up when you can't stand - that believes in you, and your potential, when you're feeling low. Surround yourself with like-minded, motivated people who empower you to be the best version of yourself.

Check out our entire June newsletter focused on Empowerment here.

Give Yourself the Gift of Saying “No”

"The ability to say no to yourself is a gift. If you can resist your urges, change your habits, and say yes to only what you deem truly meaningful, you'll be practicing healthy self-boundaries. It's your responsibility to care for yourself without excuses." – Nedra Glover Tawwab, Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide to Reclaiming Yourself

Can you think of saying “no” to yourself as a GIFT? It is – and it’s one of the best gifts you can give yourself. It’s also a responsibility. I see setting self-boundaries as part of my responsibility to care for myself, the same way I naturally see my responsibility to provide care for my loved ones.

EmpowermentKristi HornerJune 20, 2024Boundaries, Healthy Boundaries

JUNE 2023 Newsletter: EMPOWERMENT ... Grow Through What You Go Through 🌱

We LOVE talking about EMPOWERMENT! Empowerment is a "form of strength that stems from the self and community." It's also a process of BECOMING. Becoming stronger and more confident. As caregivers, empowerment is important for taking care of ourselves - self-empowerment - and providing care to others.

Empowerment might just be the BEST part of our "job." As we work to empower caregivers of ALL kinds - we're working to support them in becoming the best version of themselves! WHO do YOU want to BE or become?

Empowerment has kind of a RIPPLE EFFECT ... as caregivers become more empowered - they set an example for those in their care - they are role models for their loved ones to be more empowered, too!

As we work to prevent caregiver burnout - we love to empower caregivers to be their best selves.

5 TOOLS TO MANIFESTING EMPOWERMENT

MINDSET: What you THINK you BECOME! Notice - what is your current mindset? How do you feel about it? Do you want to make a change? You can SHIFT your mindset - make a list of your core values - how you want to BE and become - and set a goal (or two) towards pursuing those!
AFFIRMATIONS: Use affirmations to inspire you or reframe your thoughts. Affirmations are a great way to focus on positive self-talk and manifest the YOU that you want to BECOME.
JOURNAL: Journaling allows you to remember the good, bad and ugly from your day - a reminder of how you are BECOMING. It helps you to visualize where you've been and where you want to GO.
MEDITATION: “Meditation is an excellent way to start manifesting a better version of yourself. It’s about silencing and clearing the mind of all negative, unnecessary, and disturbing thoughts and ideas from the mind. With meditation, you can develop self-awareness, stress management skills and learn positive thinking techniques.” ~ Seriah Sargenton, Riyah Speaks
COMMUNITY: Find a community that cares - that lifts you up when you can't stand - that believes in you, and your potential, when you're feeling low. Surround yourself with like-minded, motivated people who empower you to be the best version of yourself.

Check out our entire June newsletter focused on Empowerment here.

Saying “No” Is a Healthy Practice

“The root of self-care is setting boundaries: it's saying no to something in order to say yes to your own emotional, physical, and mental well-being.”

~ Nedra Glover Tawwab, "Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide to Reclaiming Yourself"

Some concepts are so essential to self-care that they keep coming up in our conversations, and this week’s topic is one of them. Ever since we started Courage to Caregivers, we’ve been talking about the importance of setting healthy boundaries. But let’s face it, we can all use a refresher now and then on how to both SET and MAINTAIN healthy boundaries.

EmpowermentKristi HornerJune 22, 2023Boundaries, Healthy Boundaries

Sometimes, You Have to Close Your Window

This week’s topic requires courage, self-awareness, and an understanding of the difference between healthy and unhealthy behaviors. Sounds like a lot, I know, but setting healthy boundaries is so important to having strong relationships and personal growth that it’s well worth the effort.

Creative EmpowermentKristi HornerJune 23, 2022Healthy Boundaries, Boundaries