Who is the type of person who skydives?
Thursday, November 18, 2021
If you were to take a trip to the dropzone to do a little first-person investigation on the type of person who skydives, you’d notice one thing immediately: these people seem to have nothing in common!
There are excited, tittering 18-year-olds, grinning grey-haired grandmothers, some folks tattooed and tough-looking, and others with a more suburban, straight-laced look. Milling together on any given Saturday, you’d find individuals from vastly different backgrounds all smiling, laughing, and chatting. You might wonder what in the world was even going on. What could possibly bring such a seemingly disparate assemblage of people together? Why, skydiving, of course!
If you were under the impression that we are all carefree daredevils, prepare to be surprised! Anyone can be the type of person who skydives! From age 18 to 80, doctors, lawyers, servers, and salesmen, skydiving enthusiasts can be found in every age and profession. While skydiving calls to people across the personality spectrum, there are certain strong trends.
These are some commonalities shared by people who skydive.
The type of person who skydives is ready to grow.
Many assume that they are not brave enough to skydive. Here’s the kicker: that simply isn’t true. Skydivers aren’t necessarily brave by nature – they just view fear a bit differently. For the type of person who skydives, fear is a challenge to overcome.
Most of the time, personal growth requires a little unease. A great take on this notion came from the late Rabbi Abraham Twerski, esteemed author and respected director of psychiatry at St. Francis Hospital in Pittsburgh for 20 years. Using the analogy of a lobster, Rabbi Twerski explains that the marine crustacean only realizes it is time to grow when it feels the pressure and discomfort of being confined by its too-small shell. Once uncomfortable, the lobster hides, sheds its shell and grows a new one. Essentially, discomfort and stress are the catalysts for the lobster’s change. Rabbi Twerski elucidates, “Times of stress are times that are signals for growth, and if we use adversity properly, we can grow through adversity.”
With this in mind, you can likely guess our answer to the common question: “Should people with anxiety go skydiving?” Though the cases and severity of anxiety vary greatly from person to person, we can say one thing for sure: the experience of skydiving is an empowering one. For skydivers, the best way to tackle anxiety is to face it head-on.
The type of person who skydives has a lust for life.
Simply passing through life on autopilot is not enough for the type of person who skydives.
The skydiver wants to ensure that they are truly living and not just existing. They believe life is full of rich experiences, all you have to do is go out and find them. They are everyday Jills or Joes who have a desire to optimize the time they have been given by living their life to the fullest. To satisfy this lust for life, they choose to take flight.
The type of person who skydives is ready to shake up their routine.
Monotony is comfortable. Monotony is “safe.” (Although, let’s be real: “safe” is just a matter of perception and opinion.) But you know what? Monotony is dull.
The type of person who skydives wants to add a little variety to their life. They are willing to try new things and unlock boundless opportunities. Every experience in life was once new and unfamiliar. Skydivers want to shake up their routine with a little adventure!
The question remains: are you the type of person who skydives? We know one surefire way to find out: give it a try! Want more information? Feel free to get in touch. We’re always happy to chat about all things skydiving!
References
“Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski on Responding to Stress.” Produced by JINSIDER, YouTube, YouTube, 26 Feb. 2009, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aDXM5H-Fuw.
