The Highlight Pro Skydiving team members are professional athletes, business owners, moms, stunt doubles, test jumpers and more; and like most adults we all struggle with the concept of “downtime”. In this blog, Melissa bravely shares her struggles and learnings of a busy lifestyle. We’ll get a look into her honest perspective, experiences and how she was able to recognise when she needed to slow down and be more present in the moment.
“ In the fall of 2021, life hit a brick wall, a lot of roller coaster ups and downs. It was all about one foot in front of the other then moments appeared. One profound moment was how much I had been working. I’m a hustler, workaholic, overachiever…. I like that mode.”
If you are unfamiliar with Melissa, she’s not only a hard worker, she’s a mom, an author, an instructor, a business owner, organizes large skydiving projects, and was elected National Director for the USPA in December 2020. These jobs and roles started taking a toll on her physical and mental health. So what did she learn from this experience? She shares some of those insights with us.
“I started to realize how much I was suffering. My health, time with my son, my stress levels were through the roof… So somehow as one foot was getting in front of another, it wasn’t about getting the work done, but feeling deep & powerful feelings, reconnecting and getting grounded for what is important in life. Yes, I’m still working but now, it looks different. I take days off, I put boundaries up to not answer every message that moment but give time to dedicate to that. I’ve been doing more self care, massages, getting acupuncture, going to float tanks, getting facials, working out and yoga. The other self care is not bringing a laptop everywhere, diving deep into books, reconnecting with many friends and having fun. I feel awkward not having stuff to do all the time but I’m realizing life is like a skydive and yoga… it’s about being in the moment.”
It is common to get caught up in our to-do list and sometimes forget about ourselves. Self care is important when you have a busy lifestyle. We have to remember to make the time to take care of ourselves so we can be better equipped to help others. Melissa continues to thrive, as she faces challenges, continues to learn, adapt and be present.
“The lotus flower cycle is life, death, and rebirth and I’ve come to see how many times I’ve been reborn in this life – especially now being recently divorced. I feel incredibly vulnerable to share this, but there are many others who have had the courage to share their journeys that helped me so I thought I’d let people in to also share hope and that we are not alone. So – all the love to those that are sharing this journey.”
We hope that these insights remind you to take a moment, practice self care and live in the now. Thank you Melissa, for sharing YOUR journey!
