Ina Garten says she takes on new challenges at 78 because she likes ‘working scared’

Ina Garten, 78, said the cardinal to embracing caller challenges later successful life is making judge they're fun.

On Saturday's section of "The Interview" podcast, Garten reflected connected her determination to prosecute caller imaginative ventures successful her 50s, some arsenic a cookbook author and arsenic the big of a Food Network show.

"I emotion moving scared, because it keeps maine up astatine night," Garten said. "I emotion this expression, getting retired complete your skis. Well, you person nary choice. You've invested your money. You've benignant of made a liking successful what you've decided to do, whether it's books aliases TV."

Garten said she has often turned down opportunities for years until she could find a measurement to attack them differently.

"I don't for illustration doing it the measurement everybody other does it," Garten said, pointing to her cookbooks arsenic an example. When she began penning them successful 1999, she said, astir cookbooks included astir 250 recipes.

"I mean, who needs 250 recipes? I request 75 really bully recipes that I tin make complete and complete again," Garten said. She added that her patient was not initially convinced her thought would work, though it yet did.

Garten besides pushed backmost connected the thought that group go much acrophobic arsenic they get older, saying she felt "the opposite."

"I deliberation I person a very debased period of boredom. If I cognize really to do something, I don't want to do it again," she said, adding that she enjoys utilizing what she has learned to fig retired her adjacent step.

For Garten, deciding whether to return connected a caller task is straightforward.

"I inquire myself 1 question. Is it going to beryllium fun? And if it's fun, past I really want to do it. I conscionable person to fig retired really to make judge it's fun," she said.

This isn't the first clip Garten has spoken astir her desire to effort thing caller and measurement extracurricular her comfortableness zone.

In 2024, she told CBS News that she near her White House occupation astatine 30 to bargain the Barefoot Contessa shop because she needed to do "something creative."

That aforesaid month, she told House Beautiful that she enjoys taking connected renewal projects because they springiness her a chance to situation herself.

"I'm an adrenaline junkie," Garten said. "I springiness myself a task that I deliberation there's nary measurement successful hellhole I'm going to beryllium capable to do. And past I spell do it. And erstwhile it's over, I'm like, that worked retired really well. I for illustration having an intolerable problem to solve."

Garten is 1 of respective celebrities who person said getting older hasn't made them immoderate little eager to return connected caller projects.

Halle Berry, who turned 60 successful August, has said she has nary plans to discontinue and questioned why group spot that property arsenic a logic to extremity working.

"Why should I now beryllium down and springiness that each distant — and past what?" Berry, who turned 60 successful August, said.

Jennifer Garner has likewise said that, contempt years of success, she still values having thing to strive for.

"It's awesome to still consciousness hungry," she said. "I'm still really hungry."