"For older people, if you stay curious, you will also stay young for a long time," said Jane Fonda.
Oscar-winning actress and environmental activist Jane Fonda turns 85 today. This occurs just a few days after Jane shared some wonderful news with her followers in a blog post on December 15, “I was told by my oncologist that my cancer is in remission, and I can discontinue chemo.” In a May interview with Glamour, the actress noted that she feels younger at 84 than she felt at 20. She revealed that she's very curious and that has a huge impact on staying young. “Curious means you’re going to ask people a lot of questions, it means you’re going to read a lot of books, it means that in every situation you’re in, you're going to want to find the positive. For older people, if you stay curious, you will also stay young for a long time. I’m younger now than I was when I was 20.”
The Book Club star admitted it had taken her some time to understand a young body is "very forgiving." The actress claimed that she had mistreated her body in the past, but as she got older, she discovered that she wasn't as productive the next day when she drank excessively one night or didn't get enough sleep. “Your body is very forgiving when you’re young. So it took me a while to realize that. I abused my body a lot when I was younger. But as you get older, if you drink too much one night or not get enough sleep, you’re at half-mast the next day and you don’t like the feeling and that’s a motivation to take better care of yourself.”
The actress revealed certain tips she uses to stay younger and emphasizes nature and self-care. “One of the ways I take care of myself is I sleep eight or nine hours every night. I meditate and I try to be in nature as much as possible. Nature brings me great joy. I work out. When you get older, you realize that staying healthy is joyful and critical because age isn’t so much chronology. You can be very old at 84, which is my age, but you can also be very young. My dad died seven years younger than I am now, and he seemed so old because he was sick.”
Fonda added that she wanted to deeply review her life and how she will lead this third act of her life. She said, “Now’s the time I’m going to research myself…a deep research called a life review. It totally changed the way I thought about myself and about how I wanted to live the last third of my life. And I realized the importance of being intentional about how we go through life.”
When asked what she thinks is the most surprising realization in her life review, Fonda shared that she thinks she's very "brave". And don't we all agree!
References:
https://www.glamour.com/story/jane-fonda-cover-story
https://www.janefonda.com/2022/12/best-birthday-present-ever/
Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Charley Gallay
