Episode 2: Learning to Take Care of Yourself When No One Taught You How

In this episode of Courage is Built Here, Justine opens Pathway Two, Embody Again, with a real and honest conversation about learning to take care of yourself when no one ever taught you how. She invites her close friend, online business manager, and homeschool mom, Kristen Hanff, to share how a long, chaotic season of change became the unexpected training ground for learning to show up for herself.

Kristen walks through the season that included leaving corporate life, choosing to homeschool, relocating to a rural area, launching a business, and navigating a DNA discovery that changed everything at 39. She talks about being traumatized, overwhelmed, and unsure what to do next, while still finding anchors in therapy, trusted friendships, honest conversations with her husband, and stepping away from social media to create space for healing. She also shares how spiritual nudges played a role in helping her take small obedient steps that led to big shifts.

Together, Justine and Kristen explore how values work reshaped everything. Once Kristen named showing up for her people as a core value, she began to understand that caring well for herself was not selfish, it was essential to living that value well. They talk about shifting from rigid routines to flexible rhythms, creating non negotiables that support her mental and spiritual health, and finding work patterns that match her wiring rather than forcing someone else’s system. Throughout the episode, they return to the themes of seasons, community, and courage, and how embodying again happens one grounded choice at a time.

Key Takeaways

• Pathway Two, Embody Again, is about getting back into your body, honoring your needs, and following through for yourself so you can show up well for others.
• When self care was not modeled for you and you were not cared for well as a child, learning to take care of yourself as an adult can feel uncomfortable and confusing.
• Seasons of big change, like leaving corporate, homeschooling, moving, and life changing family discoveries, often expose how fragile or nonexistent our self care really is.
• Therapy, journaling, spiritual practices, and stepping away from social media can create space to process trauma and hear what you truly need.
• Naming core values, such as showing up for your people, can reframe self care from selfishness into a necessary act of love and loyalty.
• Shifting from rigid “routines” to more flexible “rhythms” allows you to hold both structure and grace as life ebbs and flows.
• Non negotiables like quiet time, movement, and nourishing food are practical ways to embody courage and keep your nervous system steadier.
• Entrepreneurs and busy parents often need to rethink time management, choosing work blocks and topic chunks instead of strict time blocking that does not fit their wiring.
• Overcorrecting from not being cared for can show up as abandoning yourself to care for everyone else, finding the middle requires awareness, boundaries, and support.
• Seasons will keep changing, and the work of caring well for yourself is ongoing, not something you perfect once and never revisit.

About the guest

Kristen Hanff is the owner of Simplified Services, where she serves entrepreneurs as an online business manager. A wife, mom of four, and homeschooling parent, she knows firsthand what it looks like to juggle family, business, and leadership while learning to care well for herself along the way. Kristen is also working on a devotional book and has a deep gift for listening and responding to spiritual nudges that shape her life and work.

Connect with Kristen

• Website: https://www.kristenhanff.com/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SimplifiedServices.VirtualAdmin
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_simplified.services_/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristen-hanff/
• Google Business Profile: https://share.google/AEddhhdNcv3yY1BLC
• Link Tree: https://simplifiedservices.myflodesk.com/learnmore