March 12, 2025

We Are the Hansons: A Journey of Self-Improvement

We Are the Hansons: A Journey of Self-Improvement

Join We Are the Hansons on a transformative journey of self-improvement, personal growth, and meaningful connections. Each episode explores practical strategies, insightful conversations, and inspiring stories to help you become the best version of yourself. Whether you're working on mindset, relationships, or personal success, this podcast is your guide to a more fulfilling life.

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Welcome back to Where the Hands, and I am so

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excited to share today's episode with you. It's something very

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personal to me, a journey I've been on for quite

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some time now. This episode is called a journey of

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self improvement, and I'm going to be diving deep into

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what that looks like in my life, especially as a

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mom was such a big family. You see, self improvement

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isn't just about getting better at one stage. It's a

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lifelong journey of growth, reflection, and constant learning. So let's

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get into it. It wasn't that long ago that I

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found myself feeling a bit stuck. Lifeless kids, it's a

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power washing business, and my relationship with my husband and

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everything else in between. It all felt like it was

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spinning faster than I could keep up with. I started

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to realize something I had to change, something I couldn't

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keep running on empty and expect to show up for

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my kids, my family, and myself for the way I

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wanted to. For a long time, I didn't think about

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self improvement because it felt selfish. How could I focus

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on myself when so many people needed me? But that's

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where the shift came. I realized that in order to

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be the best version of myself for my kids and

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my family. I had to start taking care of me.

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I had to focus on growth in every area in

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my life, emotion mentally, physically, and even spiritually. And I'm

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pretty sure some of you know that, especially moms who've

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gone through the same thing, and especially when you have

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a lot of kids. One of the first areas I

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focused on was emotional growth. As a mother, there are

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a lot of emotional labor that comes with the job.

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You're constantly giving your love, your patience, and your time.

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But what I found was that I was giving so

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much that I wasn't allowing myself the space to feel,

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to process, or to even grow emotionally. This is something

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I'm still working on to this day, and it is hard,

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but I'm doing it, and I honestly think that I'm

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doing pretty dang good. I'm sure I have little areas

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that I need to fix, but we're getting there. I've

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started by being more aware of my feelings. I used

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to just brush things off, or even worse, bottle up

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my emotions, but I've learned that acknowledging how I feel

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without judgment is crucial. I started keeping a journal of

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you know, different things, what I was feeling each day

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and why and what I needed in that moment. It

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wasn't easy at first, Guys telling you it's been a struggle,

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but there were so many days when I felt overwhelmed.

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But in doing so, I began to better understand my

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emotional triggers and how I could respond in healthier ways.

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It is tough, but some days are worse than others.

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But you just have to pretty much. For me, I

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catch myself like, sometimes I'll get very snotty with one

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of my family members, and I catch myself and I

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was like, man, I shouldn't be like that. It is hard,

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and let me tell you, it's made a world of

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difference when it comes to how I communicate with my kids.

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I'm better at listening and really listening to what they

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have to say and how they feel. I'm less likely

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to react out of frustration and more likely to respond

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with understanding. It is difficult sometimes, especially when you have

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kids close in age and they're fighting. I'm like, ah,

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you know, I'm sure if you have kids close in age,

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you understand what I mean. It's not easy some days,

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and some days I just got to take a breather

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go from there. Next, I knew I had to work

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on my physical health. Now, I know as a mom

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with a busy life, it's easy to put your own

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well being on the back burner. I've found that out.

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I've spent many years putting everyone else's needs before mine,

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and in the process, I neglected my own health. I

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will always put my children first no matter what. My

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kids will always be number one to me, but I

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also have to work on me as well. I wanted

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to be the best version of myself, so as I'm

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making sure my kids are first, I also have to

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worry about myself and my health and everything else. I

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was the type of person that would always push off

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everything on my own to make sure everyone around me

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was good. I do my kids first, then my husband,

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and then it's me. And the only reason I do

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me last is because I don't have a lot of

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medical or health issues. I think I'm fairly healthy, but

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there are days when life is a struggle. I think

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a lot and i'm very you know, I try and

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figure out how to do things different, to make better decisions,

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or to say something different to not hurt somebody's feelings

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or whatnot. My kids know that and sometimes when they

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get on my nerves, I usually block them out and

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walk to a different room when they're fighting so that

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I don't sit there and scream at them or you know,

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I need to take a break and then go back

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to this situation. So that's kind of and how I

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cope with things. You know, it started small, and it

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began with just taking a walk in the evenings. And

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you know, after the kids go to bed, I go

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and get in a hot bath. That's how I like

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to relax, is just sitting in a hot bath, nothing

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too intense, just you know, a way to move my

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body and clear my mind. Eventually I made time for

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exercise during the day, even if it was just ten

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to fifteen minutes at a time. It wasn't about getting

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into perfect shape. It was about feeling stronger and healthier

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to me, and I like to walk. I like to

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go out and run around with my kids. You know,

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we play tag or hide and go seek or just

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being outside in the fresh air helps a lot. It

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was about feeling stronger and healthier. That's all I really needed,

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and just a little time for myself when I get

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in the hot bathtub and just relax, no kids in there,

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bothering me, nobody just myself, and I just have time

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to chill out. I also took a closer look at

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eating habits. I am not a very good eater. I

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will eat dinner. I usually do not eat breakfast. I

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usually do not eat lunch, so dinner is where I

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get my food. I eat a good portion at dinner.

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I can go and go and go and go without eating.

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So I need to work on eating three times a day.

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Usually when I don't eat breakfast or lunch, I snack

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on you know. For lunch, it's usually chips or you know,

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something like that. Sometimes I'll eat a salad, but it's

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nothing major. It's always a smaller portion. I'm bad about it,

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I know. I also took a closer look at things

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I still struggle with, and I've learned to make healthier choices.

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I focus on balance now, not perfection, because you know,

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nobody is perfect nobody and I will never claim to

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be perfect because I definitely have my own flaws and

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my family has their flaws, so we're definitely not perfect.

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I want to fuel my body with things that you know,

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make me feel good, both physically and mentally. And while

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it's not always easy, the improvements in how I feel

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are definitely worth it. When I eat a good, healthy meal,

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I don't feel so drug down and drained. When I

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eat a good meal with good food, I feel good.

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If I'm just picking at stuff throughout the day and

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then dinner comes and I'm not hungry, so I don't eat,

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that is not good. I like vegetables. I like any

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type of vegetable there is. I am a vegetable eater.

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I like meat, I like potatoes. I know a lot

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of things are not healthy for me, but I try

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my best to make sure that we get all the healthy,

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good stuff in our house. To help me with that,

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I really started practicing mindfulness. It's not something that came

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naturally at first, but over time I found that taking

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moments throughout the day to breathe or refocus really helps

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me stay grounded. Whether it's taking a few deep breasts

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before entering a room full of kids, or using a

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few minutes in the warning to set my intentions for

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the day, these small practices have made a huge difference

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for me. I also started prioritizing my mental health by

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setting boundaries. I realize that I can't do it all

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and that's okay. There is no shame in saying no

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or asking anybody for help. I used to feel guilty

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about that, but I've come to understand that boundaries are

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necessary for my wellbeing and they don't make me less

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of a mom or a wife. Spiritual growth has also

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played an important role in my self improvement journey. For me,

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this doesn't necessarily mean a specific religion practice, but rather

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connecting to something bigger than myself, whether that's through prayer,

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which I pray a lot, and I am a big Christian,

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so just simply taking time to reflect on life. I

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started making, you know, space for moments of gratitude and

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recognizing the blessings that are in my life. And my

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kids are definitely the biggest blessing in my life. Even

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on tough days, there's always something to be thankful for,

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and taking time to connect with my faith has brought

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me a lot of peace. It's helped me stay centered

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even when life gets overwhelming. As most of you know,

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we definitely have a very overwhelming life. We have a

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child with special needs, and we are self employed, and

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it's just we have a lot going on, so it's

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definitely overwhelming sometimes I've learned that it's okay to not

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have all the answers, but as long as I have,

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as long as I can trust the process and keep

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working on becoming a better version of myself, everything will

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fall into place. And that's how I want it. All

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of this work on self improvement hasn't just been beneficial

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for me. It's had a huge impact on my family

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as well. The more I focus on my growth, the

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more I've seen my kids respond positively. They see me

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working on myself and they're learning the importance of self

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care and self awareness as well. They know that when

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I say I need a break, that means no talking,

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just let's stop right there and we'll leave me alone

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for just a little while. They get that, and to

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be honest, I've seen them do the same thing when

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they say I need a break from maybe their other siblings,

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like Anna on Torn Torn will say, and I need

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a break from you, That means Nina needs to go

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to a different area and let her take a breather.

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Better to do that than get frustrated and yell and fight.

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So we talk about it very openly at our home.

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We encourage each other to set goals to take time

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out of our mental health and to pursue things that

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bring us joy and fulfillment. Self improvement isn't just an

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individual journey. It's a family journey as well, and our

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family's on that journey. We're all in this together. Everyone

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in our family is growing and learning as we go.

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That's just how it is when you have a big

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family like ours. There is fifteen people, and it's definitely

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not easy. We usually take it day by day, and

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I can see we're growing in the right direction. The

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most important thing that I've learned on this journey of

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self improvement is ongoing. It's not just something that happens

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overnight or and it doesn't have a final destination. It's

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a process that we continue. There are days when I

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feel like I've made so much progress, and then there

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are days when I feel like I have taken a

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few steps back, And as a parent, we do that

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and it's okay. What matters is that I keep going,

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that I stay committed to becoming the best version of

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myself for me and for my family. So if you're

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on a similar journey, I encourage you to take one

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step at a time, start small, be kind to yourself,

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and remember this isn't a race. It's about progress, not perfection.

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That's all for today's episode of We Are the Hansons.

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I hope my journey towards self improvement has inspired you

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to reflect on your own growth and what steps you

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can take to become the best version of yourself. Remember,

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we're all on this journey together, and it's never too

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late to start. Thank you for listening. If you want

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to reach me, you can send me a message on

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our We Are the Hanson's Facebook page. You can also

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reach out to me on our email at we are

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the Hansen's at gmail dot com. And please get on

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over to our YouTube channel and hit that subscribe button.