She was 14 years old when she was nominated for an Oscar for the first time, as a supporting actress. She was a child model, a Disney girl, she got her first Oscar for best actress playing one of the most difficult roles in the history of cinema in Accused and, after more than five decades of career, Jodie Foster It’s clear. The most fun adventure, the one that has given him the most satisfaction, is his birthday.
“It’s a lot more fun than anything else I’ve done,” he confesses when asked about what it’s been like turning 60 in W Magazine. The actress is clear, after 60 things get better. And his words can serve as a guide for us to learn to enjoy every moment without age weighing us down.
Fifty years in the spotlight
Few careers have been as long and successful as Jodie Foster’s. The actress of The silence of the lambs, Taxi Driver either Contactamong many other unforgettable titles, She began her journey as a girl.. This is how he remembers it when talking about his career.
Of all these years she has spent in the spotlight, however, she remembers those that turned her into an adult as especially distressing. “There are several transitions that occur with age throughout life,” he recalls.. «I think the biggest one was going from college to being an adult actress. I think that’s usually the most awkward moment.»
This moment, which is complicated for everyone in general, but especially for those who dedicate themselves to their profession, usually occurs between the ages of 16 and 22, as Foster explains based on his own experience. And as she herself explains“most child actors don’t stay actors when they grow up.”
Youth, divine treasure?
It makes sense if we take into account that, during these years, although they begin to treat us like adults, the brain continues to develop. It is not until around the age of 25 when the prefrontal cortex finishes forming and we are fully masters of our reason. Because it is this part of the brain that is responsible for rational thinking.. Meanwhile, we continue at the mercy of the limbic system, its impulses and emotions.
This could also explain why various studies, such as the one carried out by economist David Blanchflower, from Dartmouth College, suggest that subjective well-being draws a kind of U.
During our childhood we are very happy, but from youth until age 40 or 50, happiness decreases endlessly.
Reaching 50
Following what Jodie Foster explains in her interview, we continue to verify that the figures mentioned in Blanchflower point out. And be careful, because the study has been carried out in more than 130 countries and with people from different socioeconomic levels. They all pointed in this same direction.
In Foster’s case, there was added pressure. The actress remembers that in those years her mother kept telling her “by the time you’re 40, you won’t work again.” The world of cinema was cruel (and continues to be) towards actresses over 40 years old. The years before that age, therefore, were very hard for the actress.
In the life of any normal person, it is common for something similar to happen. Until we are 40, we strive to position our professional career, to save, to achieve certain achievements that seem essential to us.
“That didn’t really happen,” Foster continues in his interview. “The 50s are uncomfortable for an actor, and especially for an actress. People don’t know what to do with you, and you don’t know what to do with yourself.. You’re completely confused about your relevance in the world, and you’re just trying to compete with your past and who you used to do.»
It is precisely here where Blanchflower locates the lowest part of the happiness curve. At 50, according to their study, we are unhappier than ever. We are more lost, perhaps, plagued by what they call “mid-life crisis,” which begins in our 40s and doesn’t seem to end until we are well into our 50s. But then, luckily, everything gets better.
The happiness of the experience
From 50 to 60, the happiness curve offers an accelerated rise, stabilizing from 70 until the end of life, if health is good. For Julie Foster, that’s how it has been. “And suddenly, 60 is the best option,” He says, “At 60 you realize that you no longer care about all the things that mattered to you when you were 50, and you can participate in work in a much more personal way, and you feel a kind of satisfaction.”
As with Foster, those who participated in Blanchflower’s study also reported this lack of stress, this better stress management, which seems to be the key to everything.
With experience, we learn to give value to what is truly important, taking away from what is not transcendental. And it is in that calm recovered, that we allows us to enjoy again without filters, like when we were children, where Foster and others find happiness. “There’s something about being the wise guy in the room…” the actress adds in closing, “it’s a lot more fun than anything else I’ve ever done.”
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