S3E34: Here, Hold My Kid: Mastering Identity Shifts w/ Jackie Paaso

At some point in life you’re going to have to drop the identity you’ve built up and change who you are.

Sometimes, this comes at the end of a challenging career when you’ve realised you’re just not going to make it.

Other times, this is when you’re doing incredibly exciting and daunting things. For example when you’re moving onto another stage in life.

When Jackie Paaso decided to give up on her mogul skiing Olympic dream, she encountered the first identity shift. It sparked an incredibly difficult time for her. But the lessons she learned in that time ultimately made her one of the world’s greatest pro skiers.

Jackie dominated many events of the freeride world tour and set the bar for the type of skiing that was possible. She built a career that many dream of but few achieve.

Once more, her identity was built to support this life. But when Jackie and her husband got pregnant, once more a shift of identity was imminent.

Jackie found herself asking questions around how her life would look post baby and what would happen to her career and also her way of life.

Alongside Elyse Saugstad, Jackie featured in Here, Hold My Kid; a ski movie sharing this journey as they shred big mountains.

Alongside the details of Here, Hold My Kid, we discuss:

• Dealing with mental health and how to approach challenges you face.
• Navigating the uncertainty of identity shifts.
• What kind of example Jackie intends to be for her kids.
• What Jackie wishes she could have known when going through her initial identity shift.
• And her process of skiing big lines.