Holding Patterns

Ashton Arnold
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Personal Journals

What if you’re not lost, just living in a part of the story no one talks about? Holding Patterns is a podcast about the in-between. The messy, undefined seasons of life where nothing quite makes sense. Hosted by Ashton Arnold, a deeply curious traveler who is carving out a life beyond the conventional path. Ashton leads guests through the kind of conversations you have sitting in a parked car or around a campfire. The ones that get honest, intimate, and are rooted in what it actually means to be human. This show is for people who’ve felt unsure, off-course, or like they’re making it up as they go. Each episode features a conversation with someone who’s built a life outside the typical script, unpacking the moments where success felt out of reach. From travel and relationships to money and mental health, nothing’s off-limits. Holding Patterns is here to remind you that you’re not behind, you’re not alone, and you’re allowed to figure it out your own way.

Episodes

  1. May 13

    Confidence Before Competence | Solo Travel, Loneliness & Reinvention

    In this episode of Holding Patterns, I chat with my friend and fellow tour guide, Regan Fox, to talk about solo travel, loneliness, the excitement of uncertainty, and the strange beauty of not having life figured out. Regan shares the winding path that took her from studying environmental management in Florida to living in Bakersfield, California, traveling solo through Morocco and Europe, working seasonal jobs across the U.S., and eventually guiding trips through national parks. Together, we reflect on: Learning to be alone without feeling lonelyWhy uncertainty can become an opportunity instead of a fearThe freedom (and chaos) of solo travelSeasonal work, transient lifestyles, and constantly starting overThe pressure of “having a plan” in your 20sFinding peace in stability after years of movementWhy confidence often comes before competenceTrusting that every experience is shaping you into who you’re becoming_______________________________________________ Holding Patterns Instagram Here! (https://www.instagram.com/holdingpatternspod?igsh=MXB1ajk3ZHhwdjYxMg%3D%3D) Cover art by Remy Arnold (https://www.instagram.com/remyarnoldxo?igsh=dWx3aWJsMmZheWNx) Music by penguinmusic - Better Day from Pixabay

    55 min

  2. Apr 29

    The Heartbeat Analogy | Highs & Lows of Life Abroad

    In this episode of Holding Patterns, I sit down with Nico Iriondo, a friend I met while working at a ski resort in New Zealand. We have a really honest conversation about life abroad, identity, and what happens when you keep stepping into the unknown. Nico has spent the last six years traveling the world, visiting over 70 countries, and living through multiple versions of himself. From corporate marketing professional, to full-time backpacker, to someone now navigating what it looks like to return home and rebuild life again in Colombia. We discuss the tension between stability and freedom, and what it really means to leave one life behind for another. At the center of this episode is the heartbeat analogy from Episode 1. It is a reminder that life isn’t meant to be flat and predictable, but full of highs and lows that shape who we become.  _______________________________________________ Holding Patterns Instagram Here! (https://www.instagram.com/holdingpatternspod?igsh=MXB1ajk3ZHhwdjYxMg%3D%3D) Cover art by Remy Arnold (https://www.instagram.com/remyarnoldxo?igsh=dWx3aWJsMmZheWNx) Music by penguinmusic - Better Day from Pixabay_______________________________________________ (00:00) Welcome to Holding Patterns (01:31) Meet Nico (03:34) Family Roots and the Wake-Up Call (05:02) Motorcycle Trip Sparks Change (06:45) Booking the One Way Leap (08:36) The Impact of Fear (12:24) Hakuna Matata Omen (14:35) Backpacking Highs and Lows (16:21) The Heartbeat Analogy (21:33) COVID Pause and Corporate Return (22:40) Australian Working Holiday Visa (23:31) Second Leap Abroad (24:20) Backpacking Fatigue (25:44) Jumping into the Unknown Again (28:17) Corporate Comfort Trap (30:07) Life Is Short Wakeup (31:33) New Boxes to Check (33:28) Buying the Ticket (37:46) Friends Are Family (41:03) Reverse Culture Shock (42:50) Redefining Success (45:44) Advice to Younger Self (47:08) Goodbyes

    48 min

  3. Apr 15

    Let Go or Stay Stuck | Dealing with Rejection & Finding Community

    In this episode, I sit down with my friend Caroline Kane, whom I met in New Zealand, and she has been expanding my perspective and world ever since! From Fort Collins, Colorado, Caroline created a career path for herself within wildland fire. She has spent years moving between seasonal roles, including guiding, working on chainsaw crews and prescribed burns, often living in tents, working long seasons, and navigating the industry as one of the few women in the field. After a season in Colorado, she found herself in a holding pattern shaped by funding cuts and repeated grad school rejections. She was faced with uncertainty, fear, and the pressure of not knowing what would come next. What carried her through was community and learning to let go of the plan she thought she needed. Her story highlights the power of persistence, letting go of rigid expectations, and the community that can come from an unconventional path. _______________________________________________ Holding Patterns Instagram Here! (https://www.instagram.com/holdingpatternspod?igsh=MXB1ajk3ZHhwdjYxMg%3D%3D) Cover art by Remy Arnold (https://www.instagram.com/remyarnoldxo?igsh=dWx3aWJsMmZheWNx) Music by penguinmusic - Better Day from Pixabay

    45 min

  4. Apr 1

    Uncertainty Means Freedom | Trusting Yourself Through Fear

    In this episode, I sit down with one of my best friends and my favorite Argentinian, Madalen Azpeitia. We met working at a heli-ski lodge and later reunited in Nelson, BC. Madi shares her upbringing in a close, immigrant-rooted Argentinian family and strong cultural expectations to attend university and follow a conventional path. After studying international relations and then law, Madi’s holistic therapy work (including Reiki and family-tree-focused emotional work) helped her confront anxiety, build self-love, and close the chapter on pursuing a degree despite social pressure. We discuss her fear and loneliness before buying a one-way ticket to Spain in 2022, traveling through Portugal, securing a New Zealand working holiday visa, withdrawing a sponsorship application due to unhappiness, and moving to Canada in 2024. Madi reflects on high-quality relationships formed through travel, entering a new “in-between” while building a life with her partner, and celebrating uncertainty as a space for choice. _______________________________________________ Holding Patterns Instagram Here! (https://www.instagram.com/holdingpatternspod?igsh=MXB1ajk3ZHhwdjYxMg%3D%3D) Cover art by Remy Arnold (https://www.instagram.com/remyarnoldxo?igsh=dWx3aWJsMmZheWNx) Music by penguinmusic - Better Day from Pixabay

    44 min

  5. Apr 1

    Sometimes You Just Need Your Mom | Learning To Embrace New Beginnings

    In this episode, I speak with my roommate/soul sister/friend, Brittany Nutt, a registered massage therapist and energy worker who previously worked as a tree planter for 10 years. Britt shares her experience growing up in a small rural BC town as the youngest of three, shaped by financial stress and a strong sense of independence. She describes a difficult period after ending relationships, feeling isolated on Vancouver Island, and experiencing her deepest depression. She felt a need for major change, moved off the island to her mother’s home in the Okanagan, and spent a month in a “holding pattern” before starting a heli-ski lodge job in Bella Coola where we met. We discuss coping tools—movement, nutrition, therapy, and friendship—and how the experience strengthened her trust in inner knowing and life’s process._______________________________________________Britt's Instagram Here! (https://www.instagram.com/brittnuttsy?igsh=MWkwM3hlMmliYjhraA==) Holding Patterns Instagram Here! (https://www.instagram.com/holdingpatternspod?igsh=MXB1ajk3ZHhwdjYxMg%3D%3D) Cover art by Remy Arnold (https://www.instagram.com/remyarnoldxo?igsh=dWx3aWJsMmZheWNx) Music by penguinmusic - Better Day from Pixabay

    49 min

  6. Apr 1

    The Seasons I Didn’t Plan For | A Solo Episode

    Welcome to Holding Patterns! This first episode of the podcast is a bit different than the rest - it's a solo one. I am diving into the origin of Holding Patterns and the motivation behind this creative endeavor. Additionally, I discuss feeling stuck after university, how relationships and conversations broadened my perspective, and a heartbeat analogy I learned from a friend in New Zealand about highs and lows as proof of being alive. I outline my background (Colorado, business school, Spain, NZ, Canada, tour guiding) and how studying abroad led me away from a traditional corporate path into travel and seasonal work. I describe major holding periods: losing plans to return to Spain, four difficult months at home, struggling for work in Canada, and I share coping tools, including journaling, leaning on friends/family, therapy, movement, and reflection, ending with Tara Mohr’s poem “The Rhythm.” _______________________________________________ Holding Patterns Instagram Here! (https://www.instagram.com/holdingpatternspod?igsh=MXB1ajk3ZHhwdjYxMg%3D%3D) Cover art by Remy Arnold (https://www.instagram.com/remyarnoldxo?igsh=dWx3aWJsMmZheWNx)Music by penguinmusic - Better Day from Pixabay

    48 min
  • 6 Episodes

About

What if you’re not lost, just living in a part of the story no one talks about? Holding Patterns is a podcast about the in-between. The messy, undefined seasons of life where nothing quite makes sense. Hosted by Ashton Arnold, a deeply curious traveler who is carving out a life beyond the conventional path. Ashton leads guests through the kind of conversations you have sitting in a parked car or around a campfire. The ones that get honest, intimate, and are rooted in what it actually means to be human. This show is for people who’ve felt unsure, off-course, or like they’re making it up as they go. Each episode features a conversation with someone who’s built a life outside the typical script, unpacking the moments where success felt out of reach. From travel and relationships to money and mental health, nothing’s off-limits. Holding Patterns is here to remind you that you’re not behind, you’re not alone, and you’re allowed to figure it out your own way.

Information

  • Creator
    Ashton Arnold
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    6
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Ashton Arnold