The 6 Benefits of Being Successful Later

It is easy to fall victim to self-doubt when you are a late bloomer. Comparison can become the thief of joy as you see your peers buy that house, start that family, or get that career. Meanwhile, you look at your own life and things may appear stuck in place.

You are not the problem. The way that our society has defined how success should look is. Society says that in order for success to be praiseworthy, it must come quickly, easily, and most importantly EARLY. Everywhere you look the young achievers of the world are constantly being celebrated. What better example of this than Forbes 30 under 30? This can trick you into believing that if you didn’t succeed early, you might as well give up.

BUT! There are benefits to finding success later in life that often go undiscussed:

1. You are more mature.

Maturity is a key determinate of success. When you are mature, you are willing to make sacrifices that your younger self may have not. The proof is in your brain. Around the age of 25, neuroscientist have found that the “prefrontal cortex” fully develops. This is the part of the brain responsible for planning, working memory, and impulse control. Therefore, as you get older it becomes easier to say no to temptations. You are more likely to choose to study, rather than party. Choose the salad, rather than the cake. As a result, you are more likely to succeed at your goals.

In fact, studies show that adults who go to school later in life tend to graduate sooner and with higher grades than their younger counterparts.

2. When you succeed, you will appreciate it more.

Imagine you are on a long hike. You are hot, thirsty, and a drink of water would be well-appreciated. You pass pond after pond but refuse to drink because the water is dirty. Finally, after a 2-hour journey you come across a fresh spring. How much more satisfying do you believe that water will be because you chose to wait?

This is what it looks and feels like to succeed later in life. You appreciate winning because you lost for so long.

3. The reward will be better.

A natural consequence of succeeding later in life is delayed gratification. Delayed gratification is what happens when you get a better reward for choosing to wait. Although late success isn’t usually by choice, the patience required to press forward even when more time has passed than you would like, still yields a better reward.

According to Psychology Today delayed gratification has many rewards including:

• Better self-control
• Better health
• Better relationships
• Better careers
• Better finances

The Benefits of Delaying Gratification | Psychology Today

For example, people who get married in their 30s rather than their 20s report feeling happier in their marriages. These later in life marriages are also 24% less likely to end in divorce. For more reasons on why it’s okay, and actually better, to be the last friend to get married read our post titled, Always the Bridesmaid, Never the Bride.

4. You have more experience.

With time comes new experiences, and with those experiences, come lessons. These lessons instill in those who succeed later in life with unique traits that can’t be replicated by any other means. As the saying goes, “time is a great teacher”.

Look at Amanda Jette Knox, by the age of 19 she had overcome more adversity than some may encounter in their entire life. If you look into the backgrounds of most late bloomers, like Amanda, you will often see they share in common adversity striking their paths early in life. These early experiences with adversity typically cause delays in their success. However, facing adversity and learning from it, gives you a key characteristic needed to achieve more – confidence. By overcoming your past, you are guaranteed to overcome in the future.

5. You are more likely to succeed.

Having took time to succeed, you probably developed a characteristic called “grit”. Grit is a “personality trait possessed by individuals who demonstrate passion and perseverance toward a goal despite being confronted by significant obstacles and distractions”. 

What is Grit? (gostrengths.com)

This character trait has been shown to be the greatest predictor of whether an individual will achieve personal success. Ironically, by taking longer to succeed the first time, you are more likely to succeed again and again.

6. You are happier, longer.

Research has shown that finding activities that make you feel engaged, challenged, and passionate, is one of the major keys to happiness. By succeeding later in life, you have things to strive towards for longer, and, as a result, remain happier for longer.

To put this into context, let’s use those who succeeded too soon as an example. These individuals often report high dissatisfaction with their lives when interviewed at older ages. Early achievement has been tied to depression as people lose sight of their purpose in this world. In other words, by not having things to strive towards long-term, you become less happy.

What is the take-away? Succeeding later in life brings many positives that you may have not known or considered. Late bloomers can look forward to feeling content with their lives for longer, achieving goals more easily over time, and more. Therefore, when you find yourself feeling sorry for yourself, give this list another read and keep striving towards your dreams.