At what age do Britons stop worrying about what other people think?

‘Feeling comfort is crucial to being happy in life’

UK adults said it took until their 40s to feel confident in their own skin (AFP via Getty Images)

Self-conscious Britons finally stop worrying about what other people think of them at the age of 46.

A poll of 2,000 adults aged 55 and over found they also don’t feel comfortable in their own skin until they turn 42 and aren’t content in their careers until the ripe old age of 40.

When it comes to relationships though, adults are settled by the age of 37.

But while men are satisfied with the way they look by the time they reach 34, it takes the typical woman more than two years longer than that to feel happy with their own appearance.

It also emerged that as a result of feeling comfortable in their own skin and‘unapologetically themselves’, 72 per cent of adults feel more ‘content’ in life.

Victoria Betts from shoe brand Hotter.com, which commissioned the poll, said: “Feeling comfort is crucial to being happy in life.

“But there are so many different areas in life to feel comfortable in, and it’s no wonder it takes UK adults until their 40s to tick them all off.

“Our results found nearly seven in 10 adults think it’s important that people should be allowed to be unapologetically themselves.

“But for many, the desire to fit in, not make waves and go with the flow means they don’t have the confidence to do this until later in life.”

The survey found one of the later things Britons finally achieve a comfortable level in is finance, with adults being nearly 50 before they finally feel confident with their cash.

Men also feel comfortable to speak up and have their own opinions heard a full five years before women (45 years versus 40).

One in three adults believe becoming a parent was key to them feeling more comfortable in themselves, and a quarter put it down to learning to drive.

However, a feq think it took retirement to generate the self-confidence they needed in life, according to the OnePoll figures.

Being more comfortable in their own skin made things like speaking in front of a crowd easier for several of the respondents.

Meanwhile a few no longer dread meeting new people and fumbling for ways to make themselves sound interesting.

However, one in three believe they didn’t feel comfortable in their own skin until later in life than they imagined when they were younger.

The shoe brand has created a video featuring four women reading letters to their younger selves.

Some of the letters talk about going through tough times in relationships, looking back on old photos and realising how beautiful they were, and telling their younger versions to be bold.

They also encourage their past selves to embrace all of life’s challenges, and learn to take lessons from the hard parts as well as the good.

Featuring in the video is Julia Faulkner, 59, London, who said in her letter to her younger self: “Be kind to yourself and remember life isn’t a race.”

And Clare Odia, 53, London, advised: “Life is taking you through a path where you will need to learn to value yourself based on who you are and not what you have achieved.”

SWNS