MAY THEME: GROWTH MINDSET

"Do the best you can until you know better.

Then when you know better, do better." - Maya Angelou

Failure can feel terrifying. We worry about the consequences. We struggle with managing our own and others' expectations. We stress over how our friends, family, and community may perceive us. When we have so many things to fear, it can feel easy to quit or not even try. In moments where we do fail or perceive ourselves as failing, the shame and guilt of it can hold us back further.

However, a GROWTH MINDSET reminds us of the possibility of learning and growing from our failures. Messing up does not have to be the end. We can make lessons out of our mistakes and find the strength to continue. With a growth mindset, perfection is not the goal. Fostering our belief in ourselves and our ability to learn is the objective.

3 TOOLS TO FOSTER A GROWTH MINDSET

1. Believe in Yourself - You can't start learning if you don't believe in your capability to change and grow. How do you talk to yourself in your mind? Trade demeaning self-talk for self-compassionate words.
2. Making Mistakes Is Part of the Process - It's hard to learn if you are not willing to make the mistakes that teach you how you can grow. Mistakes can be lessons and they do not have to define you.
3. Be a Life-Long Learner - What piques your curiosity? Even everyday things like wondering how you can change your morning routine can lead to self-growth. Take the time to find what you are passionate about and learn!

THEME AFFIRMATIONS
Use affirmations to inspire you or reframe your thoughts

• The world is full of fascinating and inspiring things

• I am both powerful and I need help sometimes

• I treat myself with the same empathy and compassion I give to others

• I take the time to recommit to my goals

APPS FOR GUIDED MEDITATION

• BirdCast - Curious about bird migrations? This app allows you to trace bird migration across the country.

• Healthy Minds Innovations - This app provides lessons for how we can support our wellbeing and flourish.

  UCLA Mindful App - This app shares mediations, videos, and podcasts that teach you how to meditate and practice mindfulness.

• Motivate - This app shares five inspirational videos every day that will help motivate and inspire you.

BOOKS

• A Billion Butterflies - This book by Jagadish Shukla explores climate science and how we can predict weather far into the future.
• Gifted and Talented - This novel by Olivie Blake explores three successful siblings competing against one another following the death of their father.
• I Didn't Do The Thing Today - This book by Madeleine Dore examines how we can let go of productivity guilt.

• Accidentally on Purpose - This memoir by Kristen Kish delves into how accidents and purpose can sometimes meld together.

PODCASTS

• Free Your Mind: Getting Curious - This podcast episode explains the benefits of curiosity and how we can become more curious and open.
• Can You Become a “Practical” Optimist - This podcast episode discusses how we can become practical optimists.
• Happiness Break: A Note to Self on Forgiveness, with Alex Elle - This podcast episode provides a short exercise to encourage self-compassion and forgiveness.
• Curious Stories of Coexistence - This podcast episode explores how different creatures, feelings, and beings can co-exist and interact.

ARTICLES

• How to Stay Open and Curious in Hard Conversations - This article dives into how we can stay curious when having difficult conversations with other people.
• How to Overcome All-or-Nothing Thinking - This article explains how we can avoid thinking in the extremes and instead practice reframing our thoughts.
• Shame vs. Guilt - This quick article by Brené Brown explains the differences between shame and guilt and the importance of moving away from using labeling to shame.
• How To Recommit To Your Goals - This article provides five tips for how we can recommit to our goals.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month! Founded in 1949 by Mental Health America, Mental Health Awareness Month has served as a way to nurture mental wellbeing across the country. Below, we have shared some of our favorite mental health toolkits!

• Mental Health America Mental Health Month Action Guide 2025 - This guide shares worksheets, articles, action steps, and more related to mental wellness.
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration/SAMHSA 2025 Mental Health Awareness Month Toolkit - This toolkit offers social media posts, backgrounds, and stickers you can use to support mental health awareness and share resources.
• Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services/OhioMHAS and RecoveryOhio Mental Health Awareness Toolkit - This toolkit provides more mental health awareness shareables and guides.

June's theme is EMPOWERMENT. Next month, we will be exploring how to tap into our creativity, hold space for ourselves, establish healthy boundaries, and grow through what we go through. With micro-goals, it’s easier to take the next right step - as Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu said, “A journey of a thousand miles, begins with a single step.” Check out June's Micro-Challenges Calendar here.

Courage to Caregivers Breathing Practice for June: Sitali Breath

As we support caregivers to make breathing and meditation a practice, we're pleased to share our Breathing Meditation Facilitator Cathy and her monthly breathing practice how-to videos. You can join us for June's Breathing Practice - with this practice,  we can cool our bodies and lower our blood pressure. This breath is good for cooling ourselves on hot days. You can watch June's instructional video for Sitali Breathing here, and remember to subscribe to our 2025 Monthly Breathing Practices playlist to stay updated each month. You can also subscribe to our Breathing Meditation playlist, where we have four years of our weekly breathing meditation recordings, and follow along on our Spotify Breathing Meditation playlist. 

The mission of Courage to Caregivers is to empower and equip carers to navigate their journey. We envision a world where healthy carers lead to healthier families and communities. We're in the caregiver burnout prevention business!

©2025 Courage to Caregivers, Inc.