Why living for the moment is the only way to be, according to Julia Morris

The actor, comedian, I’m a Celebrity co-host and mother of two, urges us to find our inner calm.

Childhood dreams are mostly discarded along with grazed knees and favourite toys. But the glamorous life that young Julia Morris once imagined is actually happening.

“After 75 years in the business, it’s all coming to a head,” Julia, 48, jokes.

“Actually I think it’s coming to my 33rd year on television, in Australia, the UK, and the States. It’s fantastic. I mean, it’s not without its pitfalls. There have been times I’ve been super broke. It’s just life, it ebbs and flows.”

The beauty of routine

Julia is speaking from South Africa, where she spends three months each year filming Channel 10’s I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here, her hosting gig. She also appears on Channel 9’s House Husbands, her acting gig. And just in case that wasn’t enough, she has planned a one-woman, 90-minute live stadium show, touring Australia from May – her stand-up gig.

I’m a big fan of trying to help everybody, but sometimes you just have to make sure you’re fine.

Why idle when you can go full throttle?

Yet Julia sounds calm, practically zen. This is partly because she’s away from home – husband Dan is 10,000km away with daughters Ruby and Sophie – and partly because she now has her jungle routine down to a fine art.

“I find it so much easier when I’m away from home,” she says.

“Particularly with this job, it’s very scheduled. I’m very particular about feeding my body to fuel. I need it; the hours are dramatic and most days we punch out a high-factor personality, we’re giving a lot, so we need to conserve where we can, but also stay fit.”

“It’s fine staying slim, but you’ve also got to be strong. Every step of the way I feel like I’ve got my finger on my pulse, making sure I’m eating the right stuff. Having a team of assistants doesn’t hurt.”

A highly scheduled life doesn’t sound conducive to comedy, but Julia says she thrives on the order.

“At 3.30am the alarm goes off, and we are delivered back around 5-5.30pm. We have maybe an hour for lunch, it’s the only time I’m not standing or running.”

“By the time I get home I’m so speechless that I make myself a little omelette and sit quietly listening to the jungle, then go to bed. It’s a great luxury not having the family here. To work those sort of hours and have my family not here means I get to focus on my work.”

Learning how to handle stress

Though she’s hitting career highs, Julia hasn’t always handled the stress that inevitably follows. She says that menopause brought matters to a head.

“I thought I was going completely nuts, so I went to see a psychologist who specialises in cognitive behavioural therapy,” she says.

“I was like, ‘how come I’m so grumpy all the time?’ I have a happy, healthy family, a great job. Why am I so furious?”

“I’ve spent the entire last 12 months learning and working on … being more in the moment and working out what the facts are. I’m a big fan of trying to help everybody, but sometimes you just have to make sure you’re fine,” she says.

“So when I feel that fury rising, I don’t get there any more. I haven’t been furious in a long while. It’s nuts. It’s fantastic. I can’t believe we don’t teach it in schools. It’s ah-mazing.”

Julia is “mightily looking forward” to her brief pit stop at home before heading on her national tour in 2000-seat venues.

She says the break will consist of “non-stop kissing for maybe two weeks with all three members of my family … maybe even the dog as well, she might get a bit of lip action”, before Lift and Separate, the show she has been writing for a year, hits the road.

She might even find a spare minute for reflection.

Julia says she has few regrets – what’s the point? – but if she had any advice to give her younger self, “I would say just don’t let it pass you by while you’re busy panicking”.

Julia Morris thrives on being busy, (from left) with I’m a Celebrity… co-host Chris Brown; on her wedding day; with House Husbands co-stars Delta Goodrem, Hugh Sheridan and Harry Popple.

Julia Morris Lift and Separate national tour starts May 5, livenation.com.au