Personality changes women over 50 experience

For many years our personalities were thought to be fixed by the time we reach our 30s, but recent research suggests our personalities change throughout our lifetime and bring surprising benefits.

In my experience, some personality characteristics stay with us for life and others shift as we age.  Here's what I mean...some things, such as being shy or outgoing may be in our personality make-up early on.  As a child, we may have been curious, shy, outgoing, or the class clown, and it follows us into adulthood and even mature adulthood. 

Are personality traits genetic or learned?

My daughter made an observation about herself (and me) that made me pause. "Mom, sometimes I'm just like you, I ask a bunch of questions," she said. 

"Do I ask a lot of questions?" I replied.  I had never given it any thought. Well, the answer is yes!

I've always had an abundance of curiosity, mostly regarding the "why's" in life. With age, I've become more confident at asking the poignant questions. Does this sound familiar?

As we age, we change

Women seem to appreciate friendships more as they age. We become more supportive and more tolerant of friends and all their quirks. On the flip side, women have a tendency to lack patience and become more opinionated as we age (guilty!).

As for men, I've observed they become more emotional as they age. Even the most macho, will tear up at a sentimental movie. My Dad was a perfect example of this.

Life experiences change us

After 50, we have many life experiences that influence our personalities. Challenges we've had to overcome such as addiction, loss of loved ones, successes /failures, all shape our personalities and can cause personality shifts.

They can make us stronger, causing us to lean into God in gratitude, or bring out negative aspects of our personalities, such as anger and bitterness. 

Life gives us two choices when it comes to adversity – become bitter or become better

Personality can define how we interact with the world. As we become more mature, we (usually) become more conscientious, and develop greater emotional stability. We grow more comfortable with our sense of self, our personality changes to match how we see ourselves.

How about you? Do you think your personality has changed over the years?