Does Confidence Grow with Age?
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I’m heading towards 40. I struggle massively with my self esteem and thought it would go more with age. Sometimes I feel like it does other days I wake up and it’s nowhere to be found
Personally for me I wouldn’t say my confidence has grown with age, more that i care less what others think.
As you get older I find people notice less how you look etc.
Hope you manage to make some progress soon!
Personally l know l wasn't confident in many fields. Never made any friends, Could never decide what clothes suited me, How to wear makeup & style my hair, Would only cook basic food (as to shy to experiment with meals). Never really spoke up for myself & kept my opinions & views to myself as not to offend as did not like confrontation.. I'm in my fifties now, all the above still applies but, l can throw together a meal and don't care if it's not PC, l can wear no makeup and don't care, My style is mine, l still won't give my opinions or views on anything. I say to myself.. think it, don't say it. I'm kind, friendly and will always help anyone in need. I'm confident in knowing that l am Me and still learning to walk away from the stresses in life that eat away at my confidence.
Pinkspirit...Good for you, what you said resonates a lot with me too.
I could never decide what clothes suited me when I was younger or style my hair, I hardly wore make up too , my sister used to go shopping with me for clothes & do my hair & make up for me.I don't like confrontation never have done..I'm 59 next month. have a bit more confidence, people comment how young I look, don't wear loads of make up,I'm known for being friendly. kind & always willing to help anyone in need..
janphoenix51 oh my gosh, you worded that perfectly, l always thought was just me, Its nice to know it wasn't just me.. if you know what l mean, you commenting as made me feel more comfortable about myself in a good way
I was so quiet and shy growing up and in my early working days, wouldn’t say boo to a goose. I’m 52 now and won’t take any nonsense from anyone these days and I am quite assertive. I am still a quiet person though. It also took a lot of practice with small talk as I used to think it so trivial but now it’s more just about being friendly without getting into personal emotional subjects so there is a point to it. As for self esteem you need to be nice and take care of yourself first. I think we all have ups and downs.
Personally mine has grown massively with age but that is probably due to being belittled and abused when I was a young wife. Once I was free I became the person I always was deep down. However, it is different for everyone and if your life has been pretty stable with no reason to feel low in self esteem, well I believe any change must come from within.
I'm not sure if it is that my confidence has grown or I just don't care what people think about how I look, how I dress etc as I've gotten older.
Never think your getting old try to be strong and push yourself I can do this.
You can at least try to look young.
Waik cycle fresh fruit and veg should help
I think it is all down to the individual. I was quite a shy child and still now shy in certain situations. I am very good at talking to strangers probably because I will not see them again so if I embarrass myself in front of them I don’t feel it matters as much as if I did it in front of people I know well.
I had a conversation with a childhood friend recently, where we agreed as we've got older we've kind of reversed. During our youth she was more outspoken & fiesty whereas I was very timid & quiet, now 30 years later it is the opposite she now chooses her battles, remains quiet alot, whereas I care less now & am more willing to speak up for myself. I think it's just to do with how life experiences have moulded us tbh. I don't feel particularly 'confident'. I still have self esteem issues, but I'm also not willing to be made a fool of either & will use my tongue more willingly now.
For me it definitely did as I was very quiet as a young lad especially around girls and only came out my shell in my 40s
I definitely give less of a poo what people think. I wish I was like this in my younger years. I am definitely more confident than I was when I was younger I never spoke out, something I also wish I did when I was younger. I now struggle not to say it how it is.
I wonder are the people around you family/friends/ work colleagues good for your self esteem or are they chipping away at it? I've had people and jobs that have done this in the past.
I am in my 30s and I would say that I am more confident now than I ever have been, though I am still and probably always will be an introvert, but I am more than happy with that. Up until around the age of 25 I was extremely shy. In regards to self esteem itself, I tend to go through phases where I doubt myself and other times I have high confidence in myself.
I dont think so- its just that as ive got older i just dont care what anyone else thinks about me
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