Sue Barker Quotes

By 30, I was separated from my husband, and I clearly remember sitting in my lovely office with a magnificent view, staring at a very lucrative pay stub, and bursting into tears because I was just miserable. So I had to make a decision: Keep following my plan, or be honest with myself and search for my true passion.

I have to start my real life soon, before I die of boredom and frustration.

I reached a point where I didn't think I was that great. I'm not being humble. I was looking at things and thinking: 'You're not really good in that'. I think I was becoming boring as well as bored. It was nobody's fault except mine - probably - and it might not even be my fault.

When I first decided I was going to have a go at writing a book - and really, it was a mid-life crisis - I was 39. I was in business with my husband; we had a very busy lifestyle and quite a hectic schedule running this flourishing business in travel, and I found myself waking up and realising that I didn't want to do this anymore.

By the time I went to Yale, I'd been acting for a long time and I was really tired of it. I was restless - and a little bored - and I was really eager to investigate different parts of myself.

I'd always assumed that by 40 I'd have at least a modicum of stability - a steady income, an established career, a bountiful fullness, like a pillow into which I could sink as I entered the second half of my life.

I started studying acting, got commercials, and here we are 100 years later. I'm acting and writing and I have a pool and a dog.

Your income reflects your self-identity. Your impact reveals your personal story.

When I finally quit for the second time in the summer of 2013, I had accepted that this really was the end, and, having got over that, the move into retirement was a lot easier.

I put a list together. It was like: Get health insurance, get a car, get a bigger apartment, travel more, get a record deal, get a publishing deal, sell 10,000 units, be a part of a No. 1 album, make a million dollars. I got to check off 90 percent of the stuff last year. I hit some serious landmarks in 2015.

Getting older is a hideous experience; I'm so glad I only have to do it once. But I've kept my mind, my career, my relationship, and I have enough money - I've been blessed.

Most people, if they have an opportunity to do little, will do just that, particularly if you're born into money. I could have easily done nothing, but it would have been boring and unfulfilling.

I wasn't in the right place at Kentucky, and I don't think I ever would have been comfortable in college.

No man is more unhappy than he who never faces adversity. For he is not permitted to prove himself.

It's not a mid-life crisis. It's a mid-life disaster. A mid-life crisis is when you wake up with everything and you go "I have everything but I'm still unhappy."

Unhappiness lies in that gap between our talents and our expectations.

Until you get dissatisfied, you won't do anything to really move your life to another level. Dissatisfaction is a gem. If you're totally satisfied, you're going to get comfortable. And then your life begins to deteriorate.

Like all actors, I was open to taking on new challenges, including those outside my comfort zone.

I feel like people grow the most when they step outside of the box that they are used to. For me, it's constantly challenging myself to step outside of my comfort zone. As soon as you do that, then you grow, but then you get comfortable again.

I'm still fighting to get the things I want and to do the projects I want to do. I think it will always be a fight or a challenge, but not being in my comfort zone keeps me very excited and happy.

Poor people and most of the middle class are not willing to be uncomfortable. Remember, being comfortable is their biggest priority in life... The only time you can actually grow is when you are outside your comfort zone.

I like to keep pushing myself and trying things out. I get easily bored, so I need a challenge.

For many people, change is more threatening than challenging. They see it as the destroyer of what is familiar and comfortable rather than the creator of what is new and exciting.

When you have to worry about paying the rent, you're never bored. You're just happy to have that job. But once you don't have to worry and reach the point where it's no longer about the money, you're able to look at other opportunities outside of your comfort zone.

I think new experiences are extremely important. I think it's really important to constantly challenge yourself. Comfort is not a good thing. It's good to take yourself out of your comfort zone and to look for new challenges.