Katherine Heigl is "pretty damn thrilled" to be 40.
The 'Grey's Anatomy' star celebrated the birthday milestone on Saturday (24.11.18), and has taken to Instagram to share a lengthy message detailing why she isn't concerned about getting older, and is instead embracing it.
She wrote: "Well...I am officially 40 years old. I know you're going think I'm full of it but the truth is...I'm pretty damn thrilled to be 40. For one thing, as my mother always says "Getting older is better then the alternative." Too true mother, too true! (sic)"
The 'Suits' actress insisted that the new decade in her life has given her more "freedom", as she no longer feels the "uncertainties and anxieties" of her 20s and 30s.
She continued: "For another thing 40 feels to me like a certain kind of freedom. Freedom from all the self doubt, insecurities, self loathing, uncertainties and anxieties of my 20's and 30's. Not to say I don't still have those moments but I just feel like 40 makes me older and wiser. Steadier in my convictions. More certain of my strengths. More forgiving of my faults.
"I've spent the last five years of my 30's doing the work to evolve my mind and spirit. To move my heart towards a more profound and loving expression of my best self. I've read, studied, explored and practiced ways to expand my understanding of myself and the world around me. I've clarified my deepest desires and found that all I really crave is well being. For myself and those I love."
And Katherine shunned the "stigma" attached to turning 40, as she said she thinks age is a "frame of mind".
She wrote: "I know there's a certain stigma attached to 40. I've had plenty of well meaning acquaintances and even strangers tell me not to worry I still look great. Or soon you'll be 50 and then you'll really feel old. Or youth is so fleeting isn't it. I guess I kind of feel like it's all about your frame of mind. And I've made up my mind not to let a number determine how I feel about the way I look. Or what my value as a woman in society is. I've decided I will let the number and every one after it determine the strides I make, the enlightenment I seek, the compassion I show, the beauty I radiate from within that grows and expands with life experience."
The message ended with Katherine celebrating her strengths, and thanking the "inspiring people" she surrounds herself with.
She concluded: "I'm a stronger, better, more grounded and courageous woman today and I will do my best to continue to grow so I can say the same thing at 50, 60, 70 and beyond. It doesn't hurt that I am surrounded by so many inspiring people who love me and support me through this life. Without them ... well I'd still be floundering around in uncertainty. Ok, I'm done pontificating now."
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