Persistence — Blog — Courage to Caregivers

SEPTEMBER 2024 Newsletter: Strength Lies in Tenacity

"The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity...You can act to change and control your life; and the procedure, the process is its own reward." ~ Amelia Earhart

When was the last time you didn't give up? What motivated you to persist? TENACITY is defined by Cambridge Dictionary as "the determination to continue what you are doing." However, as we all know, finding and growing this determination is hardly ever simple. Everyday, we feel overwhelmed by our seemingly endless tasks and responsibilities. However, we have the tools within ourselves to keep going.

3 TOOLS TO DEVELOP TENACITY

Growth Mindset - By remembering that we are all capable of learning and changing, we can overcome setbacks and determine what is within our reach.
Adaptability and Flexibility - When facing uncertainty, being able to adapt and pivot is essential to supporting our loved ones and giving them the care they need in the moment.
Positive Mindset - We ALL make mistakes and it's how we learn from them and grow that allows us to overcome doubt and build resilience.

Embracing our inner tenacity can be challenging, but by being PERSISTENT, developing REALISTIC OPTIMISM, and finding our COPING MECHANISMS, we can prepare ourselves for the hurdles we face and discover our determination to keep moving forward. Remember, you got this!

Check out our entire September newsletter focused on Tenacity here.

TenacityKristi HornerSeptember 26, 2024Coping mechanisms, Coping, Optimism, Realistic Optimism, Persistence

Persistence – A Common Trait in Caregivers

“Success is not the absence of failure; it’s the persistence through failure.” – Aisha Tyler

For caregivers, it’s common to feel overwhelmed at times and to be tempted to give up. But do you know what’s also common? Our persistence. Among all the traits associated with caregivers, persistence might be the most frequently mentioned.

Why? Maybe it’s because a caregiver’s tasks and responsibilities can feel never-ending, yet we still endure. And any progress for our loved one may be difficult to recognize, yet we continue to hope. And we may encounter many barriers between us and our goals, yet we maintain our commitment to do the hard work necessary to overcome them.

TenacityKristi HornerSeptember 5, 2024Persistence

SEPTEMBER 2023 Newsletter: Tools to Cultivate Tenacity

Tenacity is your ability to stick with it when things get hard. Caregivers are no strangers to HARD things. The challenges come at us daily. Sometimes they knock us down - and sometimes we're ready.

Having tenacity doesn't mean that we'll never FALL. AND, it's not about how long we're DOWN when we do. Tenacity is all about the getting UP. Getting up requires STRENGTH of all kinds - physical, mental and emotional. When we fall down - and we all know we will fall again - we need to start by pausing. Notice. Take the time and space you need to rest and recover. You'll need your strength to both get up and be ready for the next time. It can be cold and lonely when we fall - yet, Courage to Caregivers is here to support you as you STRENGTHEN your tenacity muscles.

When our kids were little (they're not so little any more at 28-30-32), I took part in a book group at school where we read "The Blessing of a Skinned Knee: Using Timeless Teachings to Raise Self-Reliant Children" by Wendy Mogel. As we dug into TENACITY this month (a concept I also learned when my kids were in elementary school) - the teaching from "Blessing of a Skinned Knee" on coping with frustration was likely the most relevant. "Treating children's daily distresses as an expected and unalarming part of life is an effective way to discourage them from turning small difficulties into big dramas. We can help children become calmer and more resilient by staying calm ourselves." ~ Wendy Mogel, "The Blessing of a Skinned Knee."

It takes a great deal of tenacity to navigate life's challenges AND as caregivers, supporting our loved ones in cultivating their tenacity, too. 💙

Check out entire September newsletter focused on Tenacity here.

TenacityKristi HornerSeptember 28, 2023Realistic Optimism, Tenacity, Coping mechanisms, Persistence

Passion, Persistence, and Grit

“Grit is a combination of passion and perseverance for a long-term goal.”

~ Angela Duckworth, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance

Of all the characteristics associated with caregiving, persistence might be the most common. The tasks and responsibilities of caregiving often require the utmost persistence. For caregivers, there may be times when our loved ones don’t seem to be making progress, and it’s tempting to give up. It’s our persistence – our motivation to keep going forward – that leads to hope.

But persistence doesn’t come easily. It takes practice … slow and steady … one micro-step and one micro-goal at a time. And sometimes, we need a little push. Caregiving feels hard enough most days, and stepping outside our comfort zone can feel scary.

AttitudeKristi HornerSeptember 7, 2023Persistence, Tenacity

September Newsletter: Attitude is one of your SUPERpowers

In my research around our theme for September of attitude - I found a LOT of different attitudes about ATTITUDE. I was looking for an expert, and it turns out a lot of people have a lot of opinions about attitude and the role it plays in our lives. Where I can see they ALL agree: our attitude is OURS - we OWN it.

My #1 SHEro Brené Brown helped me by keeping it simple ... "An attitude is a way of THINKING." She compares it to having a practice: "a practice is a way of doing, trying, failing and trying again."

This really helped me to focus in on attitude and my THOUGHTS. Attitudes are evaluations of “things” (attitude objects) - a person, a product or social group.

Turns out we each hold thousands of attitudes - some of these are inherited and some are learned. AND ... no matter what the attitude is, WE hold the control.

Check out the September newsletter focused on our theme of Attitude here!

Attitude, NewslettersKristi HornerSeptember 29, 2022Persistence, reali, copi, Attitude

A New Take on the Tortoise and the Hare

As I reflected on this week’s topic of persistence, it reminded me of Aesop’s fable about the tortoise and the hare. The standard moral of the story is that the race is not always won by the swiftest. The tortoise’s persistence was so strong that he was able to win the race despite the overwhelming odds against him. And the hare was so overconfident that he allowed himself to be sidetracked by taking a nap, eventually waking up to find that he was too far behind to catch up.

The tortoise proved his point, that slow and steady can win the race, and that he can get along just fine, thank you, with his own set of skills. Yet maybe the hare was a winner here, too. Maybe the failure of losing this race taught the hare a much more valuable lesson about the virtues of being persistent and the dangers of being too proud and confident.

And … maybe the hare just needed to take some time out for a little self-care. Maybe he was tired from all that running around and needed to take a nap. Maybe he felt so good after getting some much-needed rest that he realized losing one little race was not that big of a deal.

AttitudeKristi HornerSeptember 8, 2022Persistence

Persistence + Realistic Optimism + Coping Mechanisms = Attitude of Tenacity - September 2021 Newsletter

September Theme: Attitude

Persistence + Realistic Optimism + Coping Mechanisms = Attitude of Tenacity

With September's theme of "attitude" we started our exploration of the domain of resilience of TENACITY. Tenacity is your ability to stick with it when things get hard. Caregivers are no strangers to HARD things. The challenges come at us daily. Sometimes they knock us down - and sometimes we're ready.

Having tenacity doesn't mean that we'll never FALL. AND, it's not about how long we're DOWN when we do. Tenacity is all about the getting UP. Getting up requires STRENGTH of all kinds - physical, mental and emotional. When we fall down - and we all know we will fall again - start by pausing. Notice. Take the time and space you need to rest and recover. You'll need your strength to both get up and be ready for the next time. It can be cold and lonely when we fall - yet, we're here to support you as you STRENGTHEN your tenacity muscles 💙

Check out the September Newsletter!

AttitudeKristi HornerSeptember 30, 2021Coping mechanisms, Realistic Optimism, Persistence, Tenacity

Practice Persistence, and Progress Will Follow

Caregivers often face tasks and responsibilities that feel never-ending. We may even be so overwhelmed with it all that we are tempted to give up, but we never do. What is it that keeps us going in spite of all obstacles, that keeps hope alive in us and relentlessly pushes us forward? It’s persistence, a characteristic that’s so common in caregivers, and it’s our topic for this week as we turn to September’s theme of attitude.

AttitudeKristi HornerSeptember 9, 2021Persistence, Attitude, Tenacity