Beauty Tips

10 Women Get Real About Turning 40

Is it as bad as you think? Spoiler: It's so. much. better.

by Lindsay Tigar | COMMENT

PHOTO 6/11

"I realized I can't do it all -- but I'm still very happy." At the tail-end of her 30s, Amanda Ponzar, chief marketing officer of Community Health Charities, welcomed two children into the world, all while switching jobs, moving twice, battling health issues and attempting to balance it all together. By the time she reached her fourth decade, she was relieved to feel like 40 was, like any other combination of numerals, just a number. And with demands coming in every direction, she finally understood how impossible it is to give 100 percent, 100 percent of the time. "It's a powerful time if you know yourself and use your gifts, but trying to do everything is hard. I don't have the energy I had when I was younger to work full-time while trying to be a wife and mother, plus all the other things like daughter, sister, friend, community volunteer," she said. "I don't have much free time but I try to laser focus that free time on the family and multitask: exercising while playing with the kids, or coloring in my journal while listening to a sermon at church. The best part, though, is how happy I am. I know what I'm doing and love using my abilities to raise awareness and resources for health. I have valued relationships, both personally and professionally, at this point in my life."

Image via Amanda Ponzar

SEE NEXT PAGE: "I don't worry about things as much as I did even a few years ago."

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