Be Your Best in Your 40s

Take charge
"As I get older, I've realized that even if I can't control a situation, I can control my response to it. So instead of stressing out over a challenge, I think, 'If someone else can do it, so can I!' Then I stop worrying and just go and do it."

Ingrid Hoffman, 43, Food Network Host

Create an alter ego
"When I was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 43, I drew an image of myself as a superhero kicking cancer's bony, sickly butt. It was my own way of practicing visualization: I saw it. I drew it. I became it."

Marisa Acocella Marchetto, 47, Cartoonist and Author of Cancer Vixen: A True Story

Stand up straight
"On days I don't feel my best, I walk tall so it looks like I have all the confi dence in the world, which helps me gain it. How you carry yourself makes a big difference, not just in how other people regard you, but also in how you perceive yourself."

Tamilee Webb, 49, Buns of Steel Star