Failure To Adapt New Habits Outlooks As People Get Older

How come that as people get older they fail to adapt new habits, or break old ones. I've been thinking that's it's more to do do with attitude than actual lack of ability to learn. For example, no one would take up piano after the age of 30. I don't understand though. It's like as if it's considered immature to be extremely passionate about new something at that age. Do you know what I mean?

Take my dad for example, he got far in life and I consider him to be smart. But there are certains habits that he just wouldn't adapt to, even though you could sit him down and logically justify them. People seem to subconsciously presume that all their learning years are over by 25ish, and that after that you either 'do', or you 'exist', and stick to the same activities for the rest of their lives. I guess a lot of these people are okay with live merely for sensual pleasures, as opposed to living for achieving. I for one, feel that I should try to get weiser at close to the same rate that I get older at(at least while I'm young), and therefore am a bit too conscious as to whether I'm waisting time or not.

My mother as an extreme example: any one of the 20 or so songs/tunes she hums now and then are all probably prior to the year 1990. It's safe to say, she is pmost likely incapable of having a song get stuck in her head.

People rarely reinvent themselves. It's a shame really, giving that life is so long. Most people, depending profession peak in their 20s, 30s, or maybe 40s, and then, from there on it's a case of "I'm the guy who did X" and if X was good, they'll bluff their way through the rest of their lives because of it. I think of Bono when I write this too. When he was young, I valued his opinion, and was in awe of his lyrics. Now, all I hear is "oh look at me, look at me" trying to write songs to merely to sustain his ego. I don't understand this, as I don't feel like I will become like this as I age too.

 

I don't think you know what you will be like at 40-50-etc. Change is constant and irrevocable. You'll see what I mean if you're lucky enough to make it to old age.

 

I'm in my late 50s now, and I have adapted to new things that weren't around when I was younger.

Computers and the internet.

New genres of music.

New ideas, new knowledge, new experiences. Even over the last decade or so I can see that my inner landscape has shifted.

So I think it depends on the person. I agree a lot of older folk do get stuck in their ways. But not everyone.

 

Bono didn't change, you did. He got where he is not in small part because of his ego.

It's true when we get older, the human brain loses a certain amount of plasticity in terms of making new neural connections. That doesn't mean we can't, it just requires more time and effort.

I took up violin in my 30's. My friends thought I was nuts, lol.
It took about 6 years of studied practice before I had a steady enough tone to impress anyone. I still only became a relatively mediocre player but it was a very enriching and gratifying pursuit and I love everything about violins to this day.



In life the path often is more important than the destination.

 

There is no better way to understand this post than to go work with elder family on a farm. XD And just watch how they do things, and you're standing there like WTF are they doing? But they're looking at you thinking the exact same thing. XD

Also in the kitchen.

Mum will do everything by hand almost, whereas all daughters, we all use little gadgets and electrical appliances and get shit done a lot quicker, but she will sternly say "you don't need any of that!" but who has fucken 8 hours to cook mum? Not us. XD

 

I wouldn't judge the rest of the "aging" population by your parents. It's probably the type people they are more so than their age.

 

But when we lol and discuss this with people my own age, it seems that every parent is also like this. XD

It's how conversations are started.. "does your dad ever..." it's a riot. I think it's generational though. I used to be really cluey with tv chords and setting up dvd players and all, but now days I don't have much of a clue, I have to read instructions with new technology. Back in the day I'd pull it out of the box and work it out myself.. and technology does seem easier, unless I've finally learned to appreciate the cost of things, hence why I'm more careful and read instructions?

 

I'm not.

 

"But they're looking at you thinking the exact same thing. XD"

I am struck by this quote of yours, Irm.....reminds me of a quote I heard recently....something like how you feel and think about someone is exactly probably ditto for them about you.....

 

But you might be, in the perception of somebody much younger.

Yes pretty much Moon, this is why I am frightened and have social anxiety, because I look at people and without meaning to I inevitably judge them, like everyone does (thought they think they don't) The problem I have with this is I am no better than anybody else, so what are they thinking about me? If I can come to a horrid conclusion about someone based on absolutely nothing.. what are their conclusions?

 

I'm 62 and I learned to play mandolin three years ago. In the last year I have radically changed my diet, cutting way down on bread, pizza, pasta, cereal, rice. I have learned to cook. I am learning French, too. I'm also a better lover than ever before. So there!

 

I never come to any conclusions about people based on nothing..only what they show me......and what they do.....
I have heard this quote my entire life also...

"Youth is wasted on the young...."

not sure I agree with it, though...in some cases, perhaps.....

I will always be who I am no matter my age......I was me from day one.....
I am not talking about what one learns, etc....but the core of someone, I think, is always the same.....

That is my belief.....

 

Maybe conclusion is the wrong word here.

 

I once listened to a interview of a squadron of aerobatics single engine planes that do the loops and fly overs etc.

The interviewer asked one of the guys "how do you justify getting within inches of the next plane and having complete trust in your wingmen?"

He answered "Easy, I know what my boys have been up to all week, I know what they ate for dinner last night and where they slept. I know they aren't on any drugs and have not been drinking"

I guess what that meant to me was, while everybody tends to think they don't judge anybody, or it's not nice to judge people, you have to. That interview summed it up for ordinary every day civilians on the road, that we don't know what the car in front of or behind us is on, yet we need to put trust in them, or.. judge them to be untrustworthy and get away..

 

Old people do have actual barriers to the same type of learning, but often adapt brilliantly to change, even so - I see people in their 70s using iphones and taking selfies totally smoothly, shit I can't do.

 

Do you think your core personality has changed that much since youth? I tend to think that people stay basically the same, but manifest those characteristics in different (more safe) ways as they age. Old age seems to come with less risky behavior--more focus on preserving what they already have and love.

 

I'm pretty much the same person I was 20 years ago. I do the same shit I did when I was a kid, I never grew up and I don't plan to. My body ages and I am limited in what I can do now in regards to you know, trying to gallop up a mountain in 20 mins but personality traits etc. I don't feel that change. Most people I talk to don't.

 

I'm still the girl I was at 17. The same things are still inside of me. I'm wiser for my mistakes and I understand consequences more thoroughly.

 

eventually you get tired of keeping up, or most people do, and the world just keeps going on and leaves us behind. you know, sometimes other things are just more interesting then keeping up with the latest social trends, especially if you're not all that interested in being social to begin with.

at any rate, now a days, people when they get older are not nearly as out of touch as i remember them being when i was young.

used to be when you got older you could get away with being a little out of touch. it was a comforting thought, like retirement, to be able to look forward to.

 

That's a very vague and unhelpful thing to say. Well, I guess I'll have to wait 50 years or so to prove you wrong!! So check back with this thread then.