18/05/2016 – MY OWN PRIVATE IDAHO

Clarity

“I have never felt more confident in myself, more clear on who I am as a woman.” — First Lady Michelle Obama, on turning 50

Perspective

“The older I get, the more empowered I feel. Each life experience brings a broader perspective, and greater clarity about people, about coping, about problem resolution. I’m better able to personally navigate life’s challenges, and I’m able to use this knowledge to help others.” — Wendy Solomon, spa owner, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Compassion

“With age also comes more compassion. I have seen and experienced more and can appreciate situations from multiple perspectives. Therefore I am better able to negotiate and build consensus. I wouldn’t trade where I am in life for my younger self. Except, of course, for my wrinkles!” — Wendy Solomon, spa owner, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Ownership

“I’ve gathered strength behind my years, I owned them, I’ve earned them, I’ve deserved them, I have a right to have them…Behind my years I have value that doesn’t come when you’re 50 or 40 or 30 or 20, it doesn’t come until you’ve been in that saddle for a number of years.” — actress Sally Field

Experience

“Did you just call me old? … I really prefer the word ‘experienced.'” — actor Morgan Freeman

Strength

“Aging is not ‘lost youth’ but a new stage of opportunity and strength.” — the late writer and activist Betty Friedan

Independence

“I enjoy not having to be apologetic when it comes to my point of view. In my youth, I was always concerned and measured in my corporate life [and] how I raised children. Now, if I choose not to participate or go along with the masses, no one gives me the stink eye.” — Janice Elliott-Howard, author, Atlanta

Growth

“As you grow, you learn more. Aging is not just decay…it’s growth.” — author Mitch Alban

Confidence

“As you get older, you get better at so many things. My friends who are older than me—which is most of them—are a lot more caustic than they used to be. But a lot of them only became great when they turned 40. Everything is a little bit sexier when you’re older. You’re sexier. You’re more confident. You can do what you want.” — Chelsea Handler comedian and writer

Insight

“Looking back, it seems to me that I was clueless until I was about 50 years old.” —the late writer and director Nora Ephron

Letting loose

“People can get crazier as they get older. I can just be weird whenever I want, and there’s the freedom of not caring what people think.” — actress Candice Bergen

Getting better

“My mother always used to say: ‘The older you get, the better you get. Unless you’re a banana.'” — actress Betty White

Excitement

“Just remember, when you’re over the hill, you begin to pick up speed.” — the latecartoonist Charles M. Schulz

A sense of security

“I feel better now than I’ve ever felt. I look at pictures of myself when I was younger and I think, ‘God, I was so gorgeous there, but I didn’t feel it.’ Or, ‘Wow, I look so much better now.’ I was such a dork and I can see insecurity written all over my face, trying to be something I wasn’t—even though at the time I thought I was cool.” — model Elle Macpherson

Priorities

“Getting older is the gift of seeing around corners where you previously had no perspective. Some moments surprise you, like the ability to shrug off being called ‘ma’am’ by a cocktail waitress. Other moments delight you, like the ability to see with precision what’s important and what is trivial. I love how that gives me so much more confidence in my relationships and in how I say yes or no to life.” — Lauren Doyle, business owner, New York

Self-assurance

“When I was in my 20s I wasn’t sure of myself. Now I can really stretch. I don’t have to stay in the box. At this point I can say to myself, So what if I fall, so what? I’m going to get back up.” — singer and actress Jennifer Lopez

Mellowing out

“I like the equanimity that comes with my age. I don’t have big highs, and I don’t have big lows. Even if this job goes away tomorrow, the nonstop ambition is a thing of the past for me. I’ve mellowed.” — actress Jane Lynch

Taking the lead

“At a certain age you realize that you’re not just a wife or a mother or a sister. You are the main character of your story. You have a chance to rewrite your story and do the things you’ve always wanted to do—and were afraid to try. At age 59, I left my husband and started over. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but now I am loving my life, and I found a partner who loves me for who I am. There’s something fantastically sexy about having a new ‘boyfriend’ at 63!” — Jill Weaver, communications consultant, Guilford, Connecticut

Self-knowledge

“Growing to this age, I realize, is kind of like feeling your voice deepen. It’s still your voice, but it has more substance, and it sounds like it knows its own origins.” —actress Susan Sarandon

Fearlessness

“When you get older, there isn’t a lot left to be frightened of.” — actress Helen Hayes, as Ada Quonsett

Better bedroom skills

“I actually have better sex, which is the bottom line, is it not …? Because you learn how to, you know, work the vehicle better.” — actressLauren Hutton

No regrets

“I don’t want to be thirty again—do you? Sure, I may sometimes think I’d like to look like I’m thirty and feel like I’m thirty, but I’ve benefitted immensely from the experience and wisdom these years have brought me, and I wouldn’t trade them for anything.” — Jo Ann Jenkins, CEO of AARP

Second chances

“In life, the first act is always exciting but it is the second act—that’s where the depth comes in.” — actress Joyce Van Patten

Doing what you want

“You can say no more easily, without much, if any, guilt. No to a spouse/partner who wants to go to a movie when you want to stay home and read. No to a dinner party invitation with the same old, boring guests. No to a friend who requires too much attention and gives back little in return. ” — Jane Leder, writer, Evanston, Illinois

Freedom

“Fifty is a big corner to turn. It used to mean being put out to pasture, but it’s the opposite with me. I feel more vibrant; I’m more active than I’ve ever been. The F-word really is freedom. It’s the freedom to have dropped the rock—the rock of addiction, of family, of comparisons with other people. It’s being fit and focused and kind of furious.” — actress Jamie Lee Curtis

Woman standing in garden