Holding Space For Yourself — 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.

You Deserve Some Space, Too

“Only when I am present for myself and compassionate with myself will I be prepared to host with strength and courage.” – Heather Plett

To introduce this week’s topic, here are some insights from How to Hold Space for Yourself First, an article by Heather Plett: “What does it mean to hold space for someone else? It means that we are willing to walk alongside another person in whatever journey they’re on without judging them, making them feel inadequate, trying to fix them, or trying to impact the outcome. When we hold space for other people, we open our hearts, offer unconditional support, and let go of judgment and control.”

What if we could do that for OURSELVES? Let go of judgment and control and give ourselves a huge dose of self-love, self-forgiveness, and self-compassion. As caregivers, we’re good at holding space for others, but we’re not always good at holding space for ourselves.

EmpowermentKristi HornerJune 13, 2024Holding Space For Yourself, Holding Space

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.

Show Empathy and Compassion … For Yourself

Our topic this week puts an even newer spin on a relatively new concept – holding space. Caregivers are typically very good at holding space for others, which means being physically, mentally, and emotionally present for someone who needs us. What we want to talk about is holding space for yourself.

When we hold space for others, we allow them to feel their feelings. We commit ourselves to supporting them when they need our help. We give them our full attention, and we listen in a non-judgmental way.

EmpowermentKristi HornerJune 15, 2023Holding Space, Holding Space For Yourself