I’ve decided it’s time to get that part of me back. Now.

Today’s inspirational quote of the day (follow me on Twitter for these) came from a model in a blog post I was reading about exercise motivation: “Why not be the best version of yourself?” If I could add one thing to that, it would be now…be the best version of yourself now.

Too often people wait for things to get better, living their life in anticipation of how great things will be, someday (and yes, I fall into this group from time to time), well what the hell are you waiting for anyway? Be better now. Be who you want to be now.

The best way to get where you want to go is by setting goals. And when you’ve got somewhere big to go, rather than having this huge goal looming over you, set smaller, incremental goals so you can feel accomplished along the way.

Want to be a world-class cometitive skydiver one day? Okay great, but what’s an accomplishment you can mark on the calendar to help get you there? How about finding a team, and a coach. Getting some tunnel time. Mastering X, Y, and Z in training. All these things are check marks along the way to that big accomplishment.

Meeting goals makes you feel successful, and when you feel like you’ve accomplished something, it motivates you to continue succeeding and meeting your other goals along the way.

No need to take my word for it, start setting goals for yourself and see. Personally, I’m devoting one wall in my dining room to a framed weekly goal sheet. I’ve come to realize over the years that all or nothing isn’t my style, even though I’d like it to be. So, starting with a few attainable goals each week should help stir up that driven, motivated girl who once thrived on every challenge that came my way.

Here’s to setting, committing to, and accomplishing these goals!

Blue skies!

Ashley

I’ve always been a big believer in going out into the world and throwing your positive energy to the universe, knowing that what you’ll get in return is bound to be positive.

Part of that belief comes from the understanding that you never know what someone else is going through. Treating them in the nicest way possible, even if they aren’t the nicest people ever, may just turn out to be the best thing you could have done – for both of you.

The other part I learned after skydiving…

As skydivers, positive thinking is a must. Sure, you want to be prepared for the worst, but if you go into every skydive focusing on the worst, that’s what you’re going to get. You may not get a malfunction, but your skydive likely won’t be what it could be if you stay focused on having the best jump ever.

Positive thinking, leads to positive actions, which lends to the idea that people will naturally want to do things for you that will lead to positive outcomes. This can be something as simple as smiling at someone walking down the street, giving a compliment. For all you know, that was the most positive thing that will happen to that person today, and you may have made more of an impact than you think. Then again, maybe it’s just a drop on the bucket of rainbows and kittens that she will experience that day, but either way, it was positive. Sometimes just doing nice things can brighten your day.

So I challenge you, even the most cynical of you, to go out there and try to do one positive thing each day – whether it’s for yourself or someone else. You might just kickstart a whole new pattern of positivity in your life.

Love and blue skies!

Ashley

Now, I’m not going to lie, those statements are bold, and truth be told, I’m writing this more as a reminder to myself than anyone else.

Of course, this does not mean that you should live your life with blatant disregard for others, nor does it mean that you shouldn’t go out of your way to help others – hell, I’m a big believer in helping others to make your life even more fulfilling (ahem, Jump for Diabetes)- but, to ignore your own desire and dreams to please others is a waste.

No matter what you believe, if there is or isn’t something bigger and better waiting for us on the other side, it’s important to live in the here and now, as if this is all we’ve got. And, making the most of life is about following your dreams, living your passions, knowing when to say no, following that gut feeling that, if you’re truly honest with yourself, is usually right. Sometimes, this means letting go of one thing to let in another.

Only you can make your dreams come true. Only you can look out for your best interests all the time. Only you hold the key to living the life you believe in, that life you envision for yourself.

I’ve come to find, in my life anyway, that sometimes fear gets in the way of your dreams – sometimes that fear is simply letting someone down, sometimes it’s bigger, like losing an important aspect of your life. But the truth is, you have to trust in your gut. This is something that, as skydivers, we know all too well.

Jumping out of an airplane goes against everything your body is telling you is right. Falling is not comfortable for the human brain. Think about it, how many times have you woke from a dream with a start because of a vision of falling? Can you even count? I can’t.

It’s not natural. But, those of us who choose this path know in our gut that it’s the right thing for us, even when our bodies shoot out all kinds of signals that tell us to stop, this isn’t safe, it’s not natural.

A leap of faith, some would say, knowing that our training, our skills and those around us who we choose to jump with will keep us safe.

So why then, are there moments where simply disappointing someone in our lives can be such a scary thought that we’re willing to put our own dreams, our own wants, on the back burner in order to appease those close to us? Why is it that some decisions seem so difficult even though, deep down, we know exactly what path we want to take?

Tell me I’m not alone in this – I can’t be the only person out there who struggles with the balance between following my own dreams, living out the dreams others have for me and helping to make the dreams of those in my life come true.

It’s baby steps, I guess, to making the right decisions. It may not always be exactly what I want, or exactly what those in my life want, but it’s got to be for the greater good. Following gut feelings may disappoint others from time to time, but isn’t not following them an even greater disappointment to yourself?

Love and blue skies!

Ashley

p.s. I think this song really captures some of these sentiments:

If 2011 was a year of learning and growth, then I predict 2012 to be a year of revival. Not only in the “I’m going to revive those parts of my life that have become stagnant for one reason or another” but also in the sense that bygones will really become bygones, giving way to new, incredible things.

For those who don’t know me that well in real life, I’m a rather sensitive type. When life takes me down a path I would prefer not to have travelled, I tend to hold on to feelings of loss for what could have been.

In the past year or two I came to understand that life doesn’t always go the way you plan, and it’s not because “bad things just happen,” it’s because changes need to occur in order for life to open bigger doors for new opportunities. You can’t have everything and everyone in your life, so sometimes, circumstances must change in order for your life to progress.

That said, I want to speak candidly for a second about what brought me to this blog post in the first place. This morning I woke from a very strange dream filled with people from my distant past. Naturally, as someone who spends 10+ hours in social media would do, I did some poking around Facebook to check in on the lives of some old high school pals who appeared in my out-of-the-blue dream.

Seeing how nearly a decade has changed people, where they’re living, and what they’re up to was fun! Until, I came across something that punched me in the gut. My former best friend of 20 years got married in September and I didn’t even know it. We became estranged a few years back over something incredibly petty. After not speaking for a couple months I called to apologize for the things I said during that argument, hoping to make what was wrong, right, but unfortunately I was too late. I held on to the dream that she would call me back, missing me in her life as much as I missed her, but that day never came.

One day I realized that, though we spent most of our childhood as neighbors and friends, it just wasn’t meant to be as adults – the world had something better planned for us both.

Though I’m not going to lie, she still has a place in my heart and has remained in the back of my head since that very day.

Problem is, I haven’t really forgiven her for leaving me. I needed that closure, for someone so close had suddenly left with no explanation. But if I was honest with myself, it wasn’t closure that I needed, I simply wasn’t ready to let go of that part of my life.

Looking back, my journey through early adulthood would have been much less of a struggle if I would have moved on and let in new people and new opportunities to fill the void that was left, but I just wasn’t ready to do that, I wanted my friend by my side.

Now, I am ready. Having seen her wedding photos today made me see that she’s happy, and put a smile on my face knowing that we are both happy, even if we don’t get to share in that together.

Of course, this is just one example of the type of revival I’m referring to. There have certainly been other losses and failures (many of which have been countered by gains and successes, as life naturally tends to do) in my life since that day, some of which still surfaces from time to time, with sorrowful feelings. Today, I’m leaving all that behind.

Living with sadness over a loss or hiding from a failure (whether personal or professional) is no way to live. At some point, time has to do it’s healing, but you have to be willing to let it. Believe it or not you hold the key to having a healthy life – letting go of the past to move forward is a positive first step toward solid mental health. Today, I’m putting my emotional boo boos in times hand and opening my life to the new opportunities that lie ahead. I can’t wait to see what’s next.

How do you see revival fitting into your life in 2012?

Love and blue skies!

Ashley

Getting back into the swing of things after the holidays can be awkward. Either emails piled up at work or they didn’t – so much so that you’ve either got your hands full for days of catching up or you’re not really sure where to begin because there are no fires to put out.

Your usual gym routine is all thrown off because of the resolutioners who have flooded in and have taken over the machines with little regard for their fellow iron-pumper.

Now, there’s two ways to approach this transition of getting back into the swing of things. You can sulk that the time away is over and do just what is needed to get by until life gets itself back on track, or you can take the proverbial bull by the horns and make something of this new year.

Even though we are only on day two of 2012, I like to think this year is already off to a great start. Having the first couple days off to be productive at home definitely helps the transition, but here’s how I look at this. With a new year comes new opportunities – but positive effects from new opportunities can only come from the choices you make.

Think about it: how many big opportunities come your way simply sitting on the couch as you dread heading back to work? How much really gets accomplished by watching life lead itself?

Not many, if any, in my experience.

Life is short and precious, and for all we know, we only get one shot at this. So (cliche as it may be) why not live every day as if it’s your last, rather than watching others live theirs. Too much TV can make us lazy at life. Too much Facebook can make us lazy in our social world. But these are only scape goats. The truth is, we make the decision every day whether we are going to live our lives to their fullest. Take advantage of good health while you have it – you never know when it won’t be here anymore. Enjoy the time you spend with your friends and family. Make an effort to be a good person, every day. Keep a close eye on your own needs and wants – you’ll be thankful you followed your heart and your dreams rather than always doing the practical thing.

Live a life you believe in, the one you want to live – the only thing stopping you is yourself.

Live life, or it will go on without you.

Love and blue skies!

Ashley

I’m not one of those people who, year after year, resolves to do the same things (like lose weight, eat better, quit smoking/drinking, etc) and gets fed up 1 month in and puts that goal off for another year. I like to use the learnings from the past year to formulate my goals, that may be accomplished in 2012, but may also be longer-term goals that’ll stick with me a while.

That said, I’d like to take a look at my resolutions from last year and see how I did.

_____________

Be Honest: with myself and those around me. Make it known what I want, then work out a compromise if it doesn’t match others that are involved.

Success! Though, I do have to admit that I still struggle with this one. I’m a giver, I like to make sure others are happy, but I’ve taken great strides in making sure I’m happy too.

Write more.

Success! Well, mostly. I took some time off from this here blog to get my head around where I wanted my writing to go, and I think that time off provided great insight that was needed to continue my writing in a positive way.

Make yoga and meditation a priority.

Fail. My year started out rough, like really rough, and I lost sight of this part of taking care of myself. It was enough of a struggle to get myself to eat sometimes, let alone take the time to meditate about life. So, we’ll try again this year.

Photography: be better about capturing memories on photo.

Fail. I don’t have any good reason for this. But, I did just open my Etsy shop here: http://photohut.etsy.com. So hopefully that’ll jumpstart my drive to keep up with my photography.

Relax.

Fail, then success. Until about May I was wound tighter than I’ve ever been, but after starting a new gig and planning my incredible wedding, I learned to not worry so much. Those who know me in person would be incredibly impressed with how relaxed I was as a bride – and in turn, the day was perfect!

Wear more jewelry.

Success. Kinda. Aside from my engagement ring and wedding band, I typically wear my closing pin along with an om symbol pendant around my neck, the occasional right hand ring, and always my diamond studs (a gift from my parents that I rarely remove). What can I say, I think I’m just a basic kinda girl.

_______________

Looking back on this year, it was a HUGE time of growth for me. It was the first year of marriage that was celebrated by our wonderful wedding with friends and family just outside of Chicago. I adopted a dog who taught me just what unconditional love is. I’ve learned what kind of person I truly am, and am still in the process of learning how to share that with others.

More than anything I learned that the human spirit can overcome great obstacles. It was a rough year for my family, having lost a number of wonderful souls who will forever impact the way I live my life.

As 2011 comes to a close, I find myself walking toward 2012 with much hope, a positive attitude and a smile on my face. It’s going to be a great year!

So what about the resolutions, you might ask? Well, you’ll just have to swing by tomorrow for part 2, where I’ll outline my goals (thanks to all I’ve learned this past year) for 2012.

Love and blue skies!

Ashley

That’s how my life feels right now.

And I don’t like it. Not. One. Bit.

Not so much because of what’s happening, though I could do without a few of these situations, honestly, but more that I feel so out of control. Let’s be honest, I’m about as type A as they come. I’m not one to sit around and let my life fall into whatever place it’s going to fall. I prefer to be at the drivers seat – to know I at least have some sense of control over my destiny.

Right now, control seems to have slipped from my grasp. And it’s terrifying. I wish I were skydiving…that’s much less terrifying of a ride.

I want nothing more than to gain even the tiniest bit of control back – give me a wheel to turn, a button to push to make it all go away, or at least a break so I can slow this train down for a minute.

Yes, I’m fully aware that this is sometimes how life unfolds, there’s just enough surprise to keep you on your toes and let you know that you’re not always in control, but this feeling of being outside my own life, looking in, isn’t flying with me.

The surprising thing is, even though this blog post, after re-reading it sounds a bit alarming, I’m actually handling it pretty well. Normally, I’d be a basket case, with constant worry over what’s happening, what’s not, what’s going to happen next, how to deal with it, etc. But the truth is, I’m not really worried.

Maybe it’s because I’ve spent countless hours worrying and it doesn’t do any good. Maybe I finally learned that lesson? Doubtful. I think a lot of it has to do with my marriage, dumb as it sounds. I have never been this happy in my entire life, and having someone to share your life with, also means having someone with whom to share the burdens of life. He’s keeping me sane, keeping me grounded, supporting every decision I need to make along the way. As a single person I used to scoff at my married friends who would say “I just don’t know what I would do without him,” but now that I’m here, I truly don’t know what I would do without him.

Looking at our wedding photos is something I’m really enjoying lately. Not sure if it has anything to do with the craziness going on around me, but it’s comforting and, I gotta say, we look damn good in them. Check ‘em out for yourself here.

Aside from that, I’m doing everything in my power to keep my hands firmly grasped on my career. Lack of control will not be an issue here, if I have anything to say about it.

So tell me, am I alone here? Has anyone else ever felt like they were watching their life on TV?

Blue ones!

Ashley

Blogging holds a special place in my heart. Writing has always been an outlet for me. It’s cathartic to sit down and type out your thoughts, opinions, emotions – on any subject that might tickle your fancy (do people still say that?).

When I started SkydiveChick.com in 2009 it was because I was incredibly passionate about the sport – and I still am to this day. I wanted to share it with the world. I wanted this site to be a destination for anyone interested in hearing about skydiving from someone who does it on a regular basis. It was, and continues to be, as I get about an email a week from people who stumble upon the blog and want to know more about the sport. It’s heartwarming to know that I have inspired others to jump into this sport (no pun intended), or provided guidance to students and other fun jumpers in the sport – it’s also quite flattering. *Blushes*

Of course, that was never an intended purpose of the blog, but I’d be lying if I said my audience didn’t keep me coming back to write on a regular basis.

Since the birth of SkydiveChick so many changes have occurred in my life – I graduated AFF, started traveling to boogies, switched from RW to freeflying, met my husband, started wingsuiting, moved to Chicago, switched careers, switched dropzones, adopted a dog, got married and now I’m staring the 3rd winter since I started skydiving in the face – and let me tell you, Chicago winters are the worst. Through the whirlwind that my life has been these past two years, I can honestly say my outlook on life as well as my lifestyle has changed – and I really want my creative outlets to mesh with these changes. I’m happier than I’ve ever been and I’ve got some great goals for my near and not-so-near future, but where does blogging fit into that mix? Do I want to continue focusing on skydiving, or is it time to make SkydiveChick more of a lifestyle destination? Given that my life isn’t just about skydiving, shouldn’t my blog reflect that?

One thing that hasn’t changed is my desire to write. With my daily commute via public transportation I’ve been lucky to have extra time (not spent behind the wheel every morning and evening) to do some reading, which actually makes me want to write more. However, with everything that’s changed, I find my time for blogging just isn’t as available as it once was. Which brings me to my dilemma – to write or not to write.

I’ve taken quite a few weeks off, as you’ve likely noticed, but it’s been much needed. I still must admit that I’m unsure if I’ll be returning to blogging at SkydiveChick on a regular basis, or if this return will be short lived. I guess it’ll depend on how this feels – because as much as I love knowing that my writing is benefiting others, I have to think about what that means for my writing as a creative outlet. If I find that my return to the blogoshere continues to be a mutually beneficial experience, then you can count on my regular blogs posts once again. If it becomes a burden on my creativity, then you might just have to settle for Twitter updates and the occasional witty Facebook post. Of course, if I do start to disappear again, you might just find more of my work over on my Flickr page.

I guess we’ll just have to see where life takes me.

Blue skies!

Ashley

p.s. – a couple pictures from my recent wedding below (for those who are interested). Thanks to Ms. Amanda Huebner for being our wonderful photographer on our special day!

It’s addicting, to say the least.

It is also what inspired me to write this post today. As I mentioned before, time is limited right now between moving, business travel and my wedding in a week, so anything that does transpire here on the blog is pretty much a direct brain dump – not that I have much of a filter anyhow.

So Pintrest got me thinking about things that I love. It also made me realize that simpler is better. I’ve never been one to love clutter, though I sometimes find myself surrounded by it. I guess I could say it’s helping me figure out how to simplify a bit, too.

Below is a list, because that’s easiest, of a few things I’ve learned that I really appreciate in life:

1. Big, bold pieces of art

2. Uncomplicated relationships

3. Basic colors with a splash of brightness (read: black, white, grey and teal)

4. Classic clothing with a hint of delicate detail

5. Yogi tea with a hint of natural honey

6. Trader Joe’s sweet red win ($4.99 bitches)

7. Fall, fall and more fall.

8. Writing with a dog at your feet.

9. Reading quietly

10. Sunshine and skydiving

I think number 10 goes without saying here, but I wanted to have a round 10 – is that a little OCD of me?

Anyhow, there’s not much purpose here other than finding joy in the simple things in life. I’m not sure I’d classify skydiving as “simple” but I would say it’s pure, raw emotion that’s generated through natural body responses – and for most of us, it’s an incredibly freeing experience.

What are some of your favorite things?

Love and blue skies!

Ashley

Growing up, everyone always asks us what we want to “be” as adults. Some kids say firefighters or teachers (because they have no idea at the time that saying nuclear physicist is actually the more profitable answer), in my day it was marine biologist – that must have been a trend for kids from Michigan who liked animals and wanted an excuse to move to Florida.

From the time we start school we’re encouaged to try to be someone – to be successful and make something of our lives.

Then, the Internet came crashing down around us. Our entire lives consumed by technology and a constant need to stay connected. After all, if you’re more than 5 feet away from your iPhone at any given time you won’t be in the “know.” (Note: this is pretty accurate, actually, given the amount of information there is to consume these days.)

At the beginning, everyone who had something to say was a thought leader. Now, independent thought seems to be overshadowed by the immense amount of sharing that’s going on. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. In fact, I share quite frequently when I see a piece of information that I think my friends/family/contacts would be interested to know about.

What you’re also seeing a lot of these days are people who are out there not just trying to be someone, through thoughtful, meaningful actions, but who want to be something – the self-proclaimed “experts” of the world, if you will.

That’s what you see most of on the web, people who are the social media blogger, the person with the most followers on Twitter, whatever. It’s more about what they have become in status than who they are as a person. You see variations of this in real life too, where people want to be the athlete, the inventor, the skydiver, but sometimes I wonder if people lose a bit of themselves in the process of becoming someTHING.

Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a statement I’m making, it’s more of a broad question. DO people lose themselves in the race to become better, faster, stronger than their “opponents.” Does life become individual competition, rather than a team sport?

Given that my occupation, my livelihood depends on the existence of social media, I see my fair share of comments, posts, conversations that make me ponder this even further. Some days there’s this air of complete and total community – everyone is out to help everyone else in their lives. Sharing is about providing assistance to others, to truly share, rather than providing information in order to be the “expert.” Other days, it seems all everyone can talk about is themselves, and how great they are, and where they’ve gotten, despite who they had to walk over to get there.

Granted, I see a very small sliver of the overall picture, but I can’t help but wonder, if sometimes, people really do get so wrapped up in being something, they’ve forgotten what it’s like to be someone: themselves.

Cheers!

Ashley