I’m pretty much the same guy I was at 30 or 40, although I’m better looking now and comb my hair differently. I try to set a good example. I may curse under my breath, but I try to think about what I’m going to say before I say it. Apart from inspiring my players when I was coaching, I don’t think I have ever intentionally tried to offend anyone.
However, the majority of senior sages describe significant behavioral changes in key areas: working hard to be patient, becoming more diplomatic and less aggressive, and recognizing the value that others can bring to situations:
Becoming more patient: One of the changes that aging has brought is the shift from less to more patience:
I think I’ve become more patient. When our county superintendent of schools asked me to work with the Three R School years ago, I told him I wasn’t sure I had the patience to do that. He said, “I think you do.” So he talked me into it and I was fine.
I have a lot more patience now for stupidity. In many cases, it was a person’s naiveté. Early on, that would irritate me no end. I’d have a hard time being patient with people who didn’t get it, or didn’t want to get it. I’ve come to accept that sometimes it’s just like that.
I have become more patient. I am certainly less direct and not as aggressive as I was in business. I have learned of the need to “go light” in working with volunteers. And I now tend to ease people into their roles when making changes.
Becoming more diplomatic and less aggressive. A companion to patience is the quality of becoming less confrontational and more diplomatic:
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