Let Yourself Shine with Ali Jensen

In today’s episode of the “Helping Families Be Happy” podcast, host Dr. Carla Marie Manly, a practicing Clinical Psychologist, Wellness Advocate, and Author based in Sonoma County, California talks with Ali Jensen (Founder/Author and a military spouse and mom of three kids) about her very busy career, motherhood, and her two books one of which is ‘Perfect for This Skin You're In’.

 

Episode Highlights

• 02:10 – Ali says that she grew up in the corporate world and worked in human capital consulting for a long time. She is very passionate about well-being.
• 03:45 – Ali loves military life for so many reasons, as per her it’s an amazing community.
• 06:10 – Ali and her son spend a lot of the time together but as an author, she feels the book world has been interesting in terms of growing together, reading together, and talking together.
• 08:25 – Dr. Carla asks about Ali’s secret to creating a happy, and healthy family as well as her recommendations as a mom of three little ones and husband in the Air Force.
• 10:45 – Dr. Carla refers to what Ali said about emotional intelligence, modeling healthy emotions, and letting your kids see that it's okay to cry, and it's okay to have conflicting emotions.
• 12:45 - You become proud of yourself for trying something new, and if it doesn't work, that's fine.
• 14:45 – Ali says that when they wake up they have cheesy eggs, avocado, and toast in the morning. 
• 16:50 – Dr. Carla asks Ali to share one of her secrets to motherhood and life success.
• 19:00 – They talk about Ali’s new book – ‘Perfect for This Skin You're In’’. Dr. Carla says she likes the title of the book so much.
• 21:00 - We all have gifts within, so be yourself and let yourself shine but also be accepting and we're only better together.
• 24:40 – Ali says that she is glad that she keeps it alive because if she asked her husband questions then he finally says, please, no more questions.
• 26:30 - If we bring it down to that one baby step at a time, one piece at a time, it's easy to forget.

 

Three Key Points

1. Ali says that even if it's 30 minutes of getting outside in nature that helps them be happy and she thinks if she is happier it kind of sets the tone. So they try every day to get outside and make sure they're playing using creativity exercises. They definitely love sweets too but Ali’s daughter eats a ton of sweets and then she doesn’t feel good. So Ali thinks their main secret is their growth mindset and it is really tough. Also, they move so often, while they were moving in their last assignment in Colorado her daughters saw Ali crying and felt really sad. Ali thinks just being like a human and letting them know that you have all the emotions too. Ali is like you can be sad and cry and also be very excited for the next adventure and moving to a new country and exploring.
2. We are in a world where we think that fear and anxiety are always bad when in fact sometimes having just the right amount of fear, and anxiety reflects that there's a close opportunity ahead. This is just a sign that we're growing and we're able to expand because we do get a little too comfortable in life where we're not expanding anymore.
3. Dr. Carla thinks that curiosity is stout in many ways to judgments when we open up and we become curious and ask questions somehow and also her line of work. She doesn’t want to be a judgmental psychotherapist or author. When we open up and start asking questions and stay in that place of objectivity and beautiful childlike curiosity, we find so much on the other side. We find that we can act in a really vulnerable way in true ways.

 

Tweetable Quotes

• “I just love you talk about what makes you happy as a family.” – Ali Jensen
• “I have been either on the floor for meals or air mattresses, so that can be tough.” - Ali Jensen
• “My first book ‘Anything I Dream’ was inspired by my first daughter.” - Ali Jensen
• “Absolutely what a role model you are, not only do you have the flexibility and being able to adapt to your ever-changing world, but also creativity is clear that you're radiating light for them to see creativity and action.” - Dr. Carla Marie Manly
• “I appreciate everything that you said and shared right there.” - Dr. Carla Marie Manly
• “I think COVID made a lot of people reflect on you know, what do I want to do?” - Ali Jensen
• “We all mess up, we're human, but like what can I learn from it and how can I do better next time?” - Ali Jensen
• “It sounds as if you take your role as mom very seriously in a fun way.” - Dr. Carla Marie Manly
• “Please tell about the genesis of the book and how it can be used to make women and moms and people, in general, feel good about who they are.” - Dr. Carla Marie Manly
• “It sounds like a really exquisite book and I really appreciate what you were just saying about listening.” - Dr. Carla Marie Manly
• “I think if you just focus on one thing.” - Ali Jensen

 

Resources Mentioned

• Helping Families be Happy Podcast Apple
• Dr. Carla Marie Manly: Website LinkedIn Twitter   Instagram
• Ali Jensen: Website
• Podcast Editing