Life and Work with Ashly Doughty

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ashly Doughty.

Ashly, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I am 24 years old. Born in Costa Rica but moved to Arizona and have been here most of my life. I was born in a head-on collision by a semi-trailer and was born a month early. Because of the accident, I developed slower than others such as my digestive system. I have always had a hard time getting the proper nutrients growing up but I always managed to get through it! I was unable to intake any form of protein! Not even protein shakes. I would instantly get sick or have some kind of allergic reaction. I have always wanted to be healthy. So, it has been a challenge growing up but I have not let that stop me! My interests in life right now are health, fitness, modeling and building my life the way I deserve and to motivate other women to do the same! It started in high school where I was insecure about my looks because I would always compare myself to women on social media. It came to the point where I was creating such negative energy towards myself and realizing that God created me the way I am for a reason. I decided to stop comparing myself to others and embrace the strength that I have inside and out. I started my fitness journey! I started this in 2015. The best thing that has ever happened to me. I started educating myself about nutrition and weight lifting. I can proudly say till this day that I am so happy that I decided to love myself more and to create a healthy, positive lifestyle. I enjoy motivating others to do the same even if it isn’t about fitness but the overall inspiration to let others know that they are all individually unique and beautiful in their own way. I want to achieve so much in my life and I know I can reach them one day at a time and to believe in myself and that is why fitness has been a huge part of my life. It has created a huge impact on my mental health, physical health and emotional health. Knowing that I have struggled to digest food growing up, I am now able to digest alot more than before because I have learned more about my body and how to keep it healthy. So, know that everything is possible when you put your mind to it. Everyone has their struggles but when you can Convince your mind that you can, you will!

Has it been a smooth road?
The beginning of rebuilding my life and mentality on the view for myself was a struggle because when you have focused so hard on not being secure with yourself and comparing yourself to IG models and such it was a hard thing to quit doing when that is all you see on social media, TV, and magazines. But I managed to reevaluate my whole mentality and recognizing that what I was doing was destroying me and was very toxic to my mental health. I then learned how to feel and look beautiful by learning to love myself and respect myself for who I am. We are not created to be perfect but to be real with ourselves and others. As far as my fitness journey that was also a struggle at first because I was impatient and wanted results right away as everyone else did but then realized that it is like everything in life. Patience and commitment is key. Take it day by day and you will achieve your goals. Now I am fully addicted to the power and progress I achieve each day!

Do you think there are structural or other barriers impeding the emergence of more female leaders?
What I feel is the biggest barriers today to female leadership is that we don’t support each other enough. Now in days, I feel like alot of woman want to compete with each other instead of working as a team. Another is confidence! Some people will try to knock you off your game when becoming a female leader and not always treat you equally but you cannot let that affect you. If you go in prepared for this kind of situation and clear on your purpose to achieve your goals then you will succeed. Confidence is key in life and you have to believe in yourself. Speaking up is another barrier in today’s world. Many women are afraid to speak up because they fear rejection. But when you have a voice and speak your mind, you will be heard and that does make a huge difference.

Contact Info:

• Email: Ashlydoughty1094@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ashlyyy1094/

Image Credit:
James Patrick, Phuoc le, Josh Pearson, Brian Smith, Paul Hill

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