I had to think about this one for a while. At the workplace, the general personality trait is the know-it-all who tells you how things should be done, and why every other way is wrong. But the young engineers do that as well. In fact, those are the ones who tend to advance faster. There's a certain deference to the wise, experienced senior engineer - but only with certain generations. Over the years, some of the younger ones have treated me with respect, while others see me as an old guy who's out of touch.
Among friends, we're pretty open and clear about what we'd like to go and do, and what we won't; what we like, and what we don't. But here's the big thing: with age comes the wisdom not to be a jerk, and an intolerance for putting-up with people acting like jerks. You can walk around unfiltered, but you'll be doing it alone. The significant others in one's life have also matured, and with that maturity, they've developed a self-respect that precludes going through life with an asshole. So people soften their personalities, and make more of an effort to get along. I saw it with my dad for the brief time he was at that point. And I saw it with my father-in-law. For me, it started several years ago.
