The Midlife Awakening: Reclaiming Joy, Purpose, and Peace from the Inside Out

The alarm goes off. 6:00 a.m., and you are already late.

You leap out of bed and dive straight into the chaos: get dressed, make the coffee, check the calendar, remember to walk the dog, make sure the kids are taken care of now that school’s out. And oh yeah, there’s that project you needed to finish hours ago. The hamster wheel isn’t just spinning; it’s on fire. And it’s not even 7:00 a.m.

You press on, because that’s what high-achievers do. You show up, lead the meeting, deliver the work, keep the trains moving. No one knows how close to empty you are. Maybe you don’t even fully realize it yourself. Until the moment you pull into the driveway, stare at the front door, and feel the weight of everything inside: the loved ones, the responsibilities, the noise, the silence. All you want is stillness. Maybe a scroll through Instagram to turn your brain off. Just something to quiet the inner buzzing.

Does this sound like you?

For many of us in midlife, the to-do list gets longer while the sense of meaning grows fainter. It’s not that we’re ungrateful. We love our families, our work, our teams. But somewhere in the hustle, we lost something essential: ourselves.

People often talk about “work-life balance.” But I believe that’s a myth. Life doesn’t balance. It swings. And we hold the power to guide that pendulum. But first, we have to notice it’s off-kilter. We have to admit we’re running with the check engine light on.

That was me. A leader in the federal government in high-stakes environments for over 20 years. A single mom trying to hold the juggling act together. I had mastered the art of being “fine,” because that’s what I was trained to do. Show up. Be strong. Deliver.

Until I couldn’t anymore.

My check engine light wasn’t blinking. It was blazing. And the truth? I didn’t recognize the woman staring back at me in the mirror. I had lost myself. And it terrified me.

That was my rock bottom.

And that’s when I got help. A coach, a pastor, family, friends. My lifeline crew. And it was coaching that helped me go inward. That quieted the inner chaos. It helped me hear my soul again. Coaching didn’t change my job or erase my stress overnight. It did something far greater. It changed me. And that changed everything else.

I realized that midlife wasn’t a crisis. It was a calling. A call to remember who I was before the world told me who I had to be. To quiet the inner critic voices and love my strengths. To realign with my purpose. And ultimately, to walk with others as they do the same.

Today, I coach high-performing leaders, people like you who lead from wherever they are. People who feel stuck in the fog of burnout or disconnected from their “why.” Together, we do the inner work that creates outer transformation.

And here’s the truth:

You don’t need to quit your job or move to Bali to feel better (unless that’s your thing, then go pack your bags!). You just need to start within.

Coaching helps you identify the stories you’ve been telling yourself, often on autopilot. The ones that say you’re not enough, or you have to do it all, or you don’t get to rest until everything is perfect.

It helps you rewrite those stories.

It helps you rediscover your strengths.

It helps you reawaken joy, purpose, peace.

It helps you create the ripple effect in the world. 

And when that shift happens?

You stop living by obligation.

You start leading by and living with intention.

You show up more fully—for yourself, your family, your team, your mission.

The pendulum doesn’t swing you anymore. You swing it.

So, I’ll ask again:

What is your awakening calling you to do?

You don’t have to do it alone.

Disclaimer: The opinions and characterizations in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the U.S. government.