Do you become more fearless as you age?

Pat Mustard

When I was a younger fella, I used to think that I was fairly invincible. That didn't mean that certain things didn't scare me, it just meant that I figured that if I took a chance, that the risks I took wouldn't end badly. I could be wrong now, but I don't think this was abnormal for a younger man.

Now I'm older, and the invincibility of youth has deserted me. I know that I can get hurt. It has happened. But something else has also changed.

Not a lot scares me anymore. Not a lot at all. Not people. Not situations. Not traffic. Not injury. Not death. Not a lot. I know that bad things can happen, but somehow that is not a fear anymore. Old age may be a vague and distant threat, but a vague and distant threat is only a small threat.

There is only one fear that I can't shake now and that is a fear of heights (funnily enough, I think). No matter what I do, I can never master that one. I don't even have an abnormal fear of heights. It's just a normal fear of heights, which I have tried to beat, but cannot.

I see my old man and he just seems entirely fearless. Nothing fazes him. Nothing. Nothing at all.

Is it possible that people become more fearless as they become older?

Do they become accepting of hardships and therefore unafraid of what may possibly happen?

What do you think?

catallus

Maybe, as they venture closer to that bourne from which no traveller returns, they see the inevitable end of this life and know that it is more to be laughed at than feared?

takamichinoku

It's probably more that I'm a lot less tolerant of bull**** than I used to be, including my own.

The older you get, the more things you have experience of blowing up in your face, the more you realise that it's highly unlikely to be as bad as you expected.

qo2cj1dsne8y4k

Haven't become less fearful as I got older. Just stopped giving a ****.
Que cera and all that!

Pat Mustard

catallus wrote: »

Maybe, as they venture closer to that bourne from which no traveller returns, they see the inevitable end of this life and know that it is more to be laughed at than feared?

That a little difficult to decipher for me, but what I'm taking from it is that once a person accepts what is coming, it is no longer a fear.

Starrseed

You didn't define "old" so maybe I'm not "old" enough yet to be fearless, but for now (early 30s) I'm afraid of a lot more things now than I ever used to be!

Flying.. Used to fly all the time now even the thought terrifies me.

Horse riding.. Hell even most horses scare me these days, and as someone who has ridden since they were 7 and owned and worked with horses until 2 years ago that's sayin a lot!

Getting hurt.. Jumping fences, falling over, I just imagin the bones snapping

Monsters.. Yup, those still scare me lol

I watched more horrors as a child than I do an adult.


As I've for older I've 100% got to be way more of a panicker.. I think it's payback for all the stupid and fearless stuff I done as a teen/child lol.

wazky

Fear changes over time.

When I was younger I was afraid of monsters in the wardrobe.

Now I'm afraid that a sneeze might cause me to fill my jocks.

Lenin Skynard

I think your fears just change. I'd be a lot more afraid of something bad happening to the rest of my family than I would something bad happening to myself. It would have been the opposite when I was younger really. I think if I landed myself in hospital tomorrow with a broken leg or something I'd get a great laugh out of it but if the phone rings at 2am I break into cold sweats, terrified of what might be on the other end of the phone.

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater

Flying is getting worse and worse the more I do it which doesn't make sense. The first time I was on a plane was a flight from Dublin to London and I was glued to the window the whole way over. Loved takeoff. Now I hate takeoff and the way it makes my head feel. Hate the odd but of turbulence. Hate the whole experience really. It makes little sense, I've flown well over a hundred times at this stage, both long haul and short haul. I dunno!

Anyone else getting worse with flying the older they get?

MouseTail

People in general become more risk averse and conservative (fearful) as they age. It is something one must guard against.

nocoverart

I fear pain, but I don't fear death.

Pat Mustard

Starrseed wrote: »

You didn't define "old" so maybe I'm not "old" enough yet to be fearless, but for now (early 30s) I'm afraid of a lot more things now than I ever used to be!

Flying.. Used to fly all the time now even the thought terrifies me.

Horse riding.. Hell even most horses scare me these days, and as someone who has ridden since they were 7 and owned and worked with horses until 2 years ago that's sayin a lot!

Getting hurt.. Jumping fences, falling over, I just imagin the bones snapping

Monsters.. Yup, those still scare me lol

I watched more horrors as a child than I do an adult.


As I've for older I've 100% got to be way more of a panicker.. I think it's payback for all the stupid and fearless stuff I done as a teen/child lol.

Well no, I didn't define old age, as the definition is different for everybody, I guess. It seems that my experience may be different to yours in any case.

I love horror films, but I can't stand the idea of being afraid of anything. For whatever sense that makes.

wazky wrote: »

Fear changes over time.

When I was younger I was afraid of monsters in the wardrobe.

You are taking the p1ss but are spot on, really. I think, like the next poster says, you ditch your personal fears entirely, in favour of other people.

Lenin Skynard wrote: »

I think your fears just change. I'd be a lot more afraid of something bad happening to the rest of my family than I would something bad happening to myself. It would have been the opposite when I was younger really. I think if I landed myself in hospital tomorrow with a broken leg or something I'd get a great laugh out of it but if the phone rings at 2am I break into cold sweats, terrified of what might be on the other end of the phone.

Well said. Completely agree.

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater wrote: »

Flying is getting worse and worse the more I do it which doesn't make sense. The first time I was on a plane was a flight from Dublin to London and I was glued to the window the whole way over. Loved takeoff. Now I hate takeoff and the way it makes my head feel. Hate the odd but of turbulence. Hate the whole experience really. It makes little sense, I've flown well over a hundred times at this stage, both long haul and short haul. I dunno!

Anyone else getting worse with flying the older they get?

Not my experience but fair play. Not sure if it's appropriate to suggest that there are non-medication ways to get around fear of flying.

MouseTail wrote: »

People in general become more risk averse and conservative (fearful) as they age. It is something one must guard against.

I think that we do become more risk averse as we age, but that isn't necessarily something to guard against, considering all of the stupid things that we (I, anyway) did when we were younger.

Starrseed

Dr. Kenneth Noisewater wrote: »

Flying is getting worse and worse the more I do it which doesn't make sense. The first time I was on a plane was a flight from Dublin to London and I was glued to the window the whole way over. Loved takeoff. Now I hate takeoff and the way it makes my head feel. Hate the odd but of turbulence. Hate the whole experience really. It makes little sense, I've flown well over a hundred times at this stage, both long haul and short haul. I dunno!

Anyone else getting worse with flying the older they get?

Yep like u! Never had a problem with it in my life until about 5 years ago.. Now I refuse to even contemplate flying. I used to fly from NI to London once a week and back without a problem and then I just started to get more and more scared until I reached the point I'm at now. If i can't get there by boat or land.. I ain't goin!

AnonoBoy

This thread puts me in mind of that old saying..... "The man who is not afraid of death, should come and fix the electrics in my house because they're in a shocking state altogether and were originally wired by a talentless freak."

So basically what I'm saying is - I got some work for you OP.

Sir Arthur Daley

The Mustard wrote: »

What do you think?

I don't get paid to think.

AnonoBoy

Sir Arthur Daley wrote: »

I don't get paid to think.

I get paid to thunk baby.

Thunk thunk thunk.

I work in a think thunk.

Luckily I'm responsible mainly for the thunk part.

Because I don't get paid to think.

Pat Mustard

AnonoBoy wrote: »

This thread puts me in mind of that old saying..... "The man who is not afraid of death, should come and fix the electrics in my house because they're in a shocking state altogether and were originally wired by a talentless freak."

So basically what I'm saying is - I got some work for you OP.

You strange man! No, I would never attempt to wire anybody else's house. I'll send the ould lad!

Sir Arthur Daley wrote: »

I don't get paid to think.

You don't get paid to post here either. :pac:

Dapics

I'm in my 20's and I still can't sleep if there's a fly in my room.

Sir Arthur Daley

The Mustard wrote: »

You don't get paid to post here either. :pac:

Very true, more fearless as you age i well believe it. No one lives forever I fear death but maybe as i get older i will climatise with the idea, well got no choice anyway unless i live out my days like those that live their life in misery thinking they will live forever and dies leaving a fortune after themselves.

Sir Arthur Daley

AnonoBoy wrote: »

I get paid to thunk baby.

Thunk thunk thunk.

I work in a think thunk.

Luckily I'm responsible mainly for the thunk part.

Because I don't get paid to think.

Im still trying to thunk of a reply :pac:

Birneybau

No, I've become more conservative as I've gotten older and I don't like it.

Super-Rush

The Mustard wrote: »

When I was a younger fella, I used to think that I was fairly invincible. That didn't mean that certain things didn't scare me, it just meant that I figured that if I took a chance, that the risks I took wouldn't end badly. I could be wrong now, but I don't think this was abnormal for a younger man.

Now I'm older, and the invincibility of youth has deserted me. I know that I can get hurt. It has happened. But something else has also changed.

Not a lot scares me anymore. Not a lot at all. Not people. Not situations. Not traffic. Not injury. Not death. Not a lot. I know that bad things can happen, but somehow that is not a fear anymore. Old age may be a vague and distant threat, but a vague and distant threat is only a small threat.

There is only one fear that I can't shake now and that is a fear of heights (funnily enough, I think). No matter what I do, I can never master that one. I don't even have an abnormal fear of heights. It's just a normal fear of heights, which I have tried to beat, but cannot.

I see my old man and he just seems entirely fearless. Nothing fazes him. Nothing. Nothing at all.

Is it possible that people become more fearless as they become older?

Do they become accepting of hardships and therefore unafraid of what may possibly happen?

What do you think?

Traffic?

Pat Mustard

Super-Rush wrote: »

Traffic?

Nope. Traffic, cars, vehicles at high speeds. No scares.

Lenin Skynard

The Mustard wrote: »

Nope. Traffic, cars, vehicles at high speeds. No scares.

I'd say your ould lad does things in traffic you'd never dare to though, from reading your posts on this thread.

Pat Mustard

Lenin Skynard wrote: »

I'd say your ould lad does things in traffic you'd never dare to though, from reading your posts on this thread.

As the Aussies would say, you're not wrong, mate! :pac:

Fortunately, half of my genes came from my mother, increasing my chances of not being murdered - exponentially!

Maybe it's not so much fearless, as more experienced and more cognisant of what we can cope with. There are fewer unknowns to be afraid of I suppose.

My gran is philosophical about death and aging and fearless about most things because at her age she's dealt with most things life can throw at you.

Angry_Mammarys

Birneybau wrote: »

No, I've become more conservative as I've gotten older and I don't like it.

This, I really have become a lot more conservative, but I like it:) , gone are the days I thought I was invincible.

Lenin Skynard

The Mustard wrote: »

As the Aussies would say, you're not wrong, mate! :pac:

Ha! Sounds like mine. 61 years old , in ****e health, and would climb a ladder made of butter, while suffering a hangover, for the sake of fixing a slightly loose roof tile. He'd drive through rush hour traffic in Mumbai to buy a pint of milk without a bother. I often ponder the same question you asked in the OP when I see the things he does.

Adamantium

Nothing to fear but death itself, you are already free.
I'm a bit of a sadist though, when the plane is bouncing on the runway at Knock Airport and you could just know it was going to be a rough as we came through the clouds and low fog moments before landing, I was there smiling and giggling to myself, thinking this is so much fun!, when everbody else is worried and shocked

Pat Mustard

Lenin Skynard wrote: »

Ha! Sounds like mine. 61 years old , in ****e health, and would climb a ladder made of butter, while suffering a hangover, for the sake of fixing a slightly loose roof tile. He'd drive through rush hour traffic in Mumbai to buy a pint of milk without a bother. I often ponder the same question you asked in the OP when I see the things he does.

My old man would do the same, unless he had a dreaded sore throat, of course!

Pat Mustard

Adamantium wrote: »

Nothing to fear but death itself, you are already free.
I'm a bit of a sadist though, when the plane is bouncing on the runway at Knock Airport and you could just know it was going to be a rough as we came through the clouds and low fog moments before landing, I was there smiling and giggling to myself, thinking this is so much fun!, when everbody else is worried and shocked

That's not being a sadist, as far as I know. :pac: