"When you are older you have been around the block a few times. You know what things you like and what things you dislike. You know where you want to live, work, retire etc. You may have set patterns of behavior, food likes etc. "
This is not necessarily a bad thing. When I was younger, I would see some trait in a boyfriend that I didn't like, but I would say, "Well, that's OK, he's my man, and I'll stand by him, even if I don't agree with that." I also tended to change myself to be what I thought the guy wanted me to be.
No more. Now that I'm older, I have a much better sense of who I am, and I like myself, and I ain't changing for nobody! These days, if I see something in a person (male or female) that I don't like, I read the warning signs and bail out. I'm not spending time with someone who's a bad fit, when there are so many better matches out there waiting to be discovered.
These days, I put myself, my needs, my opinions, my tastes, my preferences, etc., FIRST. Not in a self-centered way - what I'm saying is that I no longer try to change myself to meet the other person's expectations, nor do I want him to change to suit me. Honesty in how we present ourselves is very important to getting along for the long run.