Nicole Kidman is a busy woman. She started filming the second season of HBO’s Big Little Lies in April, and recently celebrated her 51st birthday last month — so it’s easy to see how the Australian actress could get stressed with demanding schedule.
But luckily, she’s figured out how to make micro-decisions to ensure her daily happiness.
‘Choosing to feel gratitude, first and foremost,’ she told Byrdie of the micro-decisions she makes to feel happy. ‘Choosing to sleep in sometimes rather than get up and exercise – give things up so that I can have more time with my kids.’
Choices: Nicole Kidman, 51, said she practices making micro-decisions to ensure a happy life (Nicole at the Lincoln Center’s American Songbook Gala on May 29, 2018 in New York)
Filter: Nicole also said she tries to ‘tune out’ from the news because she’s ‘deeply sensitive’ (Pictured at the 2018 Time 100 Gala on April 24, 2018 in New York)
She also said it’s important to spend time with her husband of 12 years, Keith Urban, and to stay flexible, noting that she’s ‘always willing to adapt to change.’
It may come as a surprise to those who only know Nicole from her TV and movie roles, but the Oscar-winning actress believes that going with the flow is the key to living a stress-free life.
‘I like that feeling of going, you know what? This morning, I’m just not going do that,’ she said. ‘I’m just going to sit and read the paper, and we’re all just going to kick back.’
‘And I know that we have plans, but we’re not going do that,’ she added. ‘We’re going to change that. I have a big thing about just being easy on yourself, and on others. To go with the flow.’
In addition to ‘going with the flow,’ Nicole also likes to ‘tune out’ from the news and what’s going in the world. Still, she remains a big believer in reading the physical paper and loves to read The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Wall Street Journal.
But she admitted that she’s ‘deeply sensitive’ so sometimes, she’ll go for a run, hike or swim to get away from it all.
Family: She said she chooses to feel gratitude, spend time with her kids and make time for her husband, Keith Urban
Glowing: Nicole was tapped as a global ambassador for Neutrogena in February 2017 and uses a number of its products for healthy-looking skin
And because Nicole is so outdoorsy, she said the most important thing she does for her skin is use protection, with some of her go-to products including Neutrogena’s skincare and suncare (she was tapped as a global ambassador for the brand in February 2017), vitamin C, retinol at night, and the occasional massage.
Nicole also enjoys giving massages, and even learned how to become a masseuse after her birth was diagnosed with breast cancer when Nicole was 17.
‘I became a masseuse and did a course because we couldn’t afford for her to get massages after her chemo and her radiation,’ she said. ‘We didn’t have enough money. So I learned to give massage. And then I really fell in love with giving a massage.’
She added: ‘As a daughter, it was my way of helping her through the most traumatic time for us as a family. It’s a beautiful thing to be able to give.’
But it’s important to remember that doing something for another person doesn’t have to be ‘some grand gesture,’ as Nicole said. It’s about completing micro-decisions such as ‘saying thank you and smiling,’ which allow you to live a fuller life.