Meet Ashley Purdin

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ashley Purdin. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Ashley, we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

I am nothing if not resilient. I get knocked down a lot—whether that be personally, professionally, or by my mental illness. What is mental illness? According to the Cleveland Clinic: “Mental health disorders, such as depression or anxiety, affect the way we think, feel and behave. There are more than 200 types of mental illnesses. Symptoms of mental health disorders usually improve with treatment, which may include medication, psychotherapy, alternative therapies or brain stimulation therapy.” Mental illness can be something short-term someone experiences or for people like me – wellness can be a lifelong battle (also known as chronic).

In the spring of 2020, I was diagnosed with Bipolar I, or Manic Depressive Disorder. In the ten years prior, symptoms like mania, depression, paranoia, and hallucinations dominated my life. Aggressive and drastic changes in my mood, mindset, and self-worth led me on a rollercoaster ride of emotions. A neurotypical person has a certain range of emotions that they deal with throughout their life. They tend to match, for the most part, what is going on in the world around them. For me, something really wonderful could have just happened, and I might be feeling the lowest of lows. My brain chemistry is off, which tends to make my emotional state not match my circumstances.

Therapy, medication, a new routine, and a wonderful support system have completely changed my life. I no longer suffer from my disease. Instead, I am able to lead a wonderful life and feel emotions that match my experiences. My medication does NOT make me feel like a zombie—and I am on a lot of stuff, from anxiety meds to antipsychotics—it makes me feel like a whole and well human being.

What makes me resilient? Struggle. Bad things happening. Things not going my way. Tragedy. Loss. Suffering. These days, people don’t want to hear about the hard stuff. They don’t want to consider that it’s the hard times that mold character, purpose, or turn you into who you were meant to be.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

I have had two professional careers in my life: one that has been very successful, and the other is just starting out but showing a lot of promise. The first career is as a horse trainer, instructor, and clinician. The second is as a Western artist. Lately, I have been working them side by side, spending about twenty hours a week on each. It’s a great schedule and mixes my love of the outdoors with my love of art.

I started my horse training business when I was seventeen. I charged half the going rate for a riding lesson and a couple of hundred dollars a month for a training horse. I drove hours between farm calls and never said no to any client, any horse, situation, or distance. By the time I factored in my expenses, I was barely breaking even. In the horse business, this is not only a recipe for burnout, it’s also a recipe for getting seriously injured by a dangerous horse.

Looking back, I would have done so many things differently. I would have started with a smaller client base. I would have built my schedule on routine and only made myself available on certain days. I would have said “no” more. But doing things differently tends to change the trajectory of a person’s life, and where I am now, I wouldn’t trade for anything.

In the spring of 2020, along with my diagnosis, came a prescription from my psychiatrist and therapist that, at the time, I wasn’t sure I would be able to follow. They had decided that three months time away from my horse career, would do me a lot of good. At the time, my reputation, status in my community, and praise and recognition from clients were what fed my self-esteem. So stepping away from all of that felt impossible.

I needed something else to fill my time, so I dove back into my art. I started big, creating the largest painting I had yet attempted, with acrylic paint as my medium. I chose a horse as my subject because, even in art, their movement, strength, and symbolism of freedom and power still fascinated me. I painted the horses that were in training with me, and soon the commission work took off. I sold around ten paintings that summer, which, for just starting out, I was delighted with. But it wasn’t the selling of the art that fueled me—it was that every painting, every brushstroke, felt like healing—and it was. It helped me process my emotions, fill my time, and brought me so much joy.

This winter, my art career has had yet another opportunity. My work was recently accepted into an art gallery in Fort Scott, Kansas. The gallery is called The Artificers. I am delighted that my work will reach a larger audience and be seen by more potential collectors. Please visit their website: https://www.theartificers.com/the-artificers for more information on the show.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Support:
This one is intentionally first: Build a support system around yourself. We need other people. Going it alone does not maximize your impact on the world; it minimizes it. I don’t like to think about where I would be if it weren’t for all of the people in my life supporting me along the way. Shoutout to my amazing friends, family, and especially my ever-patient and understanding husband. xoxo

Flexible Mindset:
What is important to you in your life right now may change over time. It’s a good idea to have a flexible mindset about goals, ambitions, and careers. We have a saying in horse training: when a horse is unruly, we need to “get into the middle of his program.” This simply means creating a situation that interrupts his current pattern of thinking and helps him to change track. I find that in life, when something truly gets in the “middle of your program” and requires a change of course, being open-minded about the end result can really have a positive impact on your mental well-being.

Resiliency:
Being resilient and trying again and again has been one of the most useful life skills I have developed. Regardless of how many times I’ve been “knocked down” by life, my health, other people, rejection, etc., resiliency comes from living through the trials and hard times and realizing on the other side that you can and will survive them.

Do a “Something”:
I had a teacher in school who always encouraged us to try “something” when faced with decision-making. Just jump in and try it! Too many times, when faced with decisions, we tend to get analysis paralysis. When I make decisions, I make them quickly and firmly. I do my best not to look back and agonize over the what-ifs. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll try something else. If it really doesn’t work out, I’ll pick myself back up, dust myself off, and start over. I had a professor in college that encouraged us to not be a “flat squirrel”. The poor squirrel in the road who can’t pick a direction ends up road kill because of his lack of decision making ability. Don’t be a flat squirrel.

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

“Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance” by Angela Duckworth

Here is a quote from the book:
“I won’t just have a job; I’ll have a calling. I’ll challenge myself every day. When I get knocked down, I’ll get back up. I may not be the smartest person in the room, but I’ll strive to be the grittiest.”

I think that pretty much covers everything the book taught me: Follow your calling relentlessly. My calling is to bring joy into the world. Whether that is helping an equestrian student overcome a challenge and thus feel a sense of accomplishment, or bringing joy through my art. Joy comes in many different forms. Our true calling lies outside of a certain career path and could ultimately look like many different things. I just recently wrapped my head around this. My personality tends to be all or nothing, this or that, right or left. It hasn’t been until the last year or so that I’ve realized I can hold my goals and ambitions more loosely and allow myself to shift my focus when it’s better for my mental and physical health. Or even simply because I want to!

Thanks for having me on this interview,

– Ashley

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.ashleypurdinart.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashleypurdinart
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/1194designs/

Image Credits

Headshot Photo: Lily Scheel.
Photo of the horse jumping: Hannah Gurske Murphy.
The photos of the paintings, by Ashley Purdin.