Is it too late to improve my character?

Great writing here. I smiled several times. I especially like the idea of mulling something over for 50 years.

When we are young, there can be vast improvement in our character before we become solidified in our older "glory".
When older, the steps become as our physical steps, smaller. We can still change our actions, our habits and our character but the steps are necessarily smaller. After all, it is the little things which mark us, the daily interactions, our words and our kindness.
Let me not grow up to be a grumpy old man!

I was just telling my spouse when I was a kid people would ask me all the time, "Do you ever talk."
Well most of the time I was too afraid to talk for fear of being verbally attacked by my dad.
A couple of days ago I told my spouse that I can't stop talking to people now because I enjoy it so much. I smile at them, I say hi to a certain server at a restaurant I go to, I just chit chat. And I love it!!!!!🤓 So I feel like a new person. One positive outcome from having cancer. Sometimes my brother says I talk too much!!

Enjoyable topic to think about. I experience character as fixed, despite my attempts to change it over 71+ years. I gave that up a while ago and instead decided to focus on my virtues while corralling my faults (rather than eradicating them). For example, I can be rude on a line, or a phone call. I blame being born in Manhattan where brusque quick interactions are considered polite as opposed to time wasting niceties. This has not gone over well in the rest of the country! So I accept I may be rude, but instead focus on expanding my natural friendliness. This has mostly improved things! That is, instead of telling myself "don't be rude" I tell myself to let out my genuine interest and friendliness. That said, I agree we are never too old to be our better selves as often as possible. Thanks!

@mir123
I pretty much tell new ppl I met that I'm from jersey. That I cuss at times too... They usually laugh then.
Just so my extremely quick responses or rants won't startle them so much. ( Or so I hope)....
ya can't take the girl out of the hood. It's there no matter how much you try to change.

Being straightforward or blunt does not generate kindness. Kindness, I think, requires thoughtfulness of the other person. First you must practice doing acts of kindness and then, eventually, you will be known as kind.

Telling someone that you love them and thank them for letting you get to be friends with them, is an act of kindness. It shows that your love for them is beyond sexual and mere physical.

Jan David

Enjoyable topic to think about. I experience character as fixed, despite my attempts to change it over 71+ years. I gave that up a while ago and instead decided to focus on my virtues while corralling my faults (rather than eradicating them). For example, I can be rude on a line, or a phone call. I blame being born in Manhattan where brusque quick interactions are considered polite as opposed to time wasting niceties. This has not gone over well in the rest of the country! So I accept I may be rude, but instead focus on expanding my natural friendliness. This has mostly improved things! That is, instead of telling myself "don't be rude" I tell myself to let out my genuine interest and friendliness. That said, I agree we are never too old to be our better selves as often as possible. Thanks!