Penelope Cruz is happier now but still misses the "antics" of her younger days

The 49-year-old actress - who turns 50 next month - has admitted she

she has with herself now to decades past.

Pondering how experience gives you "peace of mind", she told Elle Spain: "If you ask me what my relationship with myself was like now and the one I had in my 20s or 30s,

.

"Because of how I feel, and maybe there have been other times where I wouldn't have said it."

She added: "I take advantage

, and I never think that 'I was better before.' "

While the 'Ferrari' star is happy with how

she has grown and developed, she does miss the "kind of unconsciousness" that came with youth.

She said: "Sometimes

and return more to that kind of unconsciousness."

She noted that while some aspects of life "have not been easy", she takes any struggles as lessons.

She explained: "Everything I've learned so far or all the mountains I've had to climb -

, and I don't mean anything to do with success or that part of the job - are part of my daily learning."

Penelope previously admitted her regular director collaborator

, 74, has always viewed her as a mother on screen.

She told Elle magazine: "At my age, 80 per cent of the characters that I play will be

or abandonment or characters who didn't want to have children or couldn't or who lost children.

"I've played mothers since I was very young

. Pedro always saw me as a mother.

"We have known each other since I was 17. He would watch me go to talk to strangers just to see their babies.

"He always saw that strong,

, and I saw him see it."