It is too much to expect not to be stung by criticism. To be completely unaffected you’d need to have an indifference to the opinions of others that bordered on solipsism. The knack is to feel the sting and let it fade, avoiding the temptation to scratch at it and make it even worse. You have to accept that some critics are like blood-sucking insects who are only happy when feeding on others.
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I share the stereotypically British dislike of bragging and affection for self-deprecation. I also think the self-critical impulse is essential[…]
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There is much to celebrate in our changing attitudes to ageing. I certainly don’t want us to go back to the attitudes of my British grandmother’s generation, for whom getting old seemed to involve mainly sitting at home, watching the television and waiting for visitors. However, I also worry that our positivity has a flip-side – Denial Of Getting Old. Our reluctance to get old before our time leads us to pretend we’re still young beyond our time.
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We should stop treating instantaneity as the mark of authenticity. What we find at the tips of our tongues or our fingers does not necessarily most deeply reflect who we are.
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I intend to make the whole of September, and perhaps even the rest of the year, my “festival of 50”[…]
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