How Have You Changed As You've Gotten Older?

[swgirl926]

I find that I am a lot less judgmental - of myself AND of others. I have made some mistakes - real whoppers - and I am more inclined to be understanding of people that have done the same. I realize that life has many shades of grey and that life is not a race, nor is it a linear progression. I no longer feel inferior for not following the "Life Script". I just go my own way, and I don't try to defend it or apologize for it. And, the older I get, the more I realize that I have A LOT yet to learn - that I have more questions than answers. And that's OK.

When I was younger, I felt like I had to be model perfect, and I was obsessed with making money. Now I can accept my physical imperfections and I prefer more of a work - life balance. If I never become a millionaire, my life will have still been worth something. I am more willing to speak up when I used to clam up. I am less willing to take any crap from anyone. AND, I am more willing to take risks. I am trying new things, like hip hop dancing classes and whatever else seems interesting, and I don't get apoplectic if I make a mistake. In the past I had to be great at something right away or I would give up. These days I give myself a chance. I have drawings that I have been doing for the last 20 years, and while I have showed them to a few people, I have been terrified of the thought of making them public for what people would think. Now I am going to take a chance and get them out there. I know that it is not going to happen overnight, and I may not be known as some prolific artist, but that is OK. In my twenties I would freak out about things that couldn't bother me in the slightest now that I am 43. I kind of like this getting older thing, and I hope that I continue to like it.

[bewitchyou]

Can't remember if I already responded to this thread or not, but who cares I'll say something anyway because I feel this is a good place for self-reflection.

I think the #1 thing I have noticed is that if I want change I can do something about it, Im getting rid of a victim mentality that has kept me down for some time now, im learning to not let the past hold me back in life.

Other things in no particular order: A greater realization of the need to take care of myself and put myself first because I matter, and NOT to take care of others better! More open minded, less judgmental, not worrying about things I cannot control. Although Im a lone wolf it's good to get out and be social every now and then. It's nice to have people that care and it's ok to ask for help. There are different levels of interacting with people, it is OK to be selective about who I let into my life. It's ok to wise up and be honest with myself about life around me. Just living life for ME and not worrying what others think and how their beliefs differ from mine.

[Student66]

I will borrow, if I may, MaryMeriMarry's fitly spoken words about being older and sadder. The world continues to decline into a mass of moral anarchy. The number of personal physical ailments increases. The list is quite lengthy. But, I have managed to maintain strong curiosity about wanting to figure life out. Sadly, my attempts of making sense of things, fails most of the time. But, the Bible offers hope. The world sure doesn't.

[mommy2be1053]

Since turning 40 last year, I feel like I've changed and came a long way since my 21/22nd birthday. I moved to a different country (here) for college from overseas, and genuinely thought I'd go back home after graduation. However life led me onto a path of interesting turns and twists throughout my 20's-I was fortunate enough to have lived in upstate NY, Boston, NYC, D.C before settling somewhere in mid Atlantic region.

Looking back I had a lot of angst and anger towards my family life so it took me my entire 20's to straighten my head and heart out. I was also busy hustling, climbing through the racks in my career before getting married at 30. Entire 30's was about working hard to travel the country and overseas with my husband, to having kids and now we're settled. In a good phase with our young kids at their most interesting and funny years with the best years ahead of us. I always had very low tolerance for BS and fake people, my levels is even lower those days. I'm very possessive of my time and often think how I'd like to spend my free time with people in my life and have drastically reduced or cut time out completely with certain people in my life that are toxic. I used to believe a lot in my religion and god, and now not so much those days. There's a lot of abuse and turmoil in the name of "religion" that just shouldn't be on at all.

for the rest of my 40's and years ahead, I'd like to focus on what is important to me; being kind, be tactful, take no BS from people and bad situations, spend time often with my kids and husband, do fun and stupid things, get stronger physically, be healthier and above all love well.

[IndyDancer]

Another thing that has occurred to me since I first responded a while back...

The older I get, the more I realize how much incompetence and imperfection there is out there, and how often people get by with it with no repercussions. As a kid (and young adult) I was very trusting of authority and experts, assumed people knew what they were doing and were competent, because otherwise they wouldn't be in business and dressed well, right? Now I tend to be much more discerning - just because someone confidently assures me about something, doesn't mean they are right or actually know what they are doing. I'm also better at asking questions instead of just taking at face value whatever someone says (and it is amazing how few questions it takes, even just neutral matter-of-fact objective inquiries, to disarm someone who thought they had you fooled).