Nancy
[00:00:00] Today’s episode is an invitation to reframe the so-called midlife crisis, not as the end of anything, but as the beginning of everything.
Welcome to the Nancy Levin Show. I’m Nancy Levin, master coach, bestselling author, and founder of Levin Life Coach Academy. I help ambitious midlifers reinvent themselves and turn a midlife crisis into the catalyst for creating their most fulfilling life. Yet whether you’re questioning a relationship career, or the overall direction of your life in the midst of change, you are in the right place.
Join me each week for insights on transforming tough transitions into the best years of your life. Let’s dive in.[00:01:00]
Nancy
Welcome to another episode of the Nancy Levin Show, and today, if you are standing in the middle of what might feel like a breakdown or a falling apart, a deep aching question, “Is this all there is?”
Then I’m talking to you. If you are feeling stuck, unfulfilled, or like you’ve lost touch with who you truly are, I really want you to hear me very clearly.
You are not broken. You are being beckoned. This is not a crisis. This is a catalyst, and so today’s episode is an invitation to reframe the so-called midlife crisis.
Not as the [00:02:00] end of anything but as the beginning of everything.
So grab your journal, a cup of tea, or just bring your full attention and presence to this moment, we are going to walk through three powerful belief shifts that can turn this turbulent time into your most transformative season yet.
So let’s begin by talking about the word crisis. It sounds dramatic. It carries weight. It carries a sense of catastrophe as if your whole world is collapsing and there’s no way out.
But what if the real crisis is simply staying in a life that no longer fits you? What if this feeling of crisis is actually your soul [00:03:00] tapping you on your shoulder gently at first and then louder saying: “You can’t keep doing this.”
So the term midlife crisis is really misleading. It implies a kind of failure, a falling apart. But from where I stand, both as a coach and a woman who has walked through it, it’s actually a wake up call. It is a chance to realign. A chance to reinvent and a chance to return home to yourself.
When we frame it as a crisis, we make it feel external like something is happening to us beyond our control, but when we understand it as an invitation, we begin to reclaim our agency and we get to respond instead of react. Yes, it might feel scary, and yes, it might feel messy, and yes, it [00:04:00] might feel like everything familiar is falling apart, but I like to think of it as a renovation.
You have to tear down the parts that no longer serve you in order to create space for something new and beautiful and that demolition is necessary when we stop resisting the discomfort. Start trusting its wisdom. We can begin to shape a life that feels more like us, a life that truly honors the truth of who we are now, not who we used to be and not who others expect us to be.
So I just invite you to take a deep breath here and ask yourself where in your life you are feeling like things are crumbling and I invite you to reframe this as something that’s being [00:05:00] cleared to make way for something better.
Next up, let’s talk about something that so many of us are carrying: people pleasing and perfectionism.
You might be noticing that during this season of questioning, you’ve become acutely aware that you’ve been living a life that looks good on the outside, but feels hollow on the inside, and chances are you have spent years, maybe even decades, orienting your life around the needs, expectations, and desires of everyone else.
So you have been the good child, the dependable friend, the high achieving professional, the perfect partner. But where in all of that are you? Where in all of that are you considering what you want? Where in all of that are you really [00:06:00] paying attention to what’s lighting you up because perfectionism and people pleasing aren’t personality quirks.
They are strategies. Strategies we developed early in life to feel safe, loved, and accepted. We learned to attune to others instead of ourselves.
We learn to earn our worth instead of own it. And here’s what’s tricky. People=pleasing works. It gets us praise and approval. It reinforces our identity, but it also slowly erodes our relationship with ourselves.
You don’t have to blow up your whole life to come back into alignment. You don’t have to leave your job, your relationship, or move to a cabin in the woods. Reinvention doesn’t require a dramatic declaration. It begins with a quiet, [00:07:00] courageous question, what do I want?
What do I value?
What feels true for me right now?
And then inch by inch, step by step, you begin choosing you. So take a moment here to really consider what’s one small thing you have said yes to that you want to say no to. And how would it feel to honor your own truth? Not the next time. When we live from alignment, we experience genuine joy and freedom.
It doesn’t mean we stop caring about others. It means we include ourselves in the equation. So this is the season to stop outsourcing your worth and start reclaiming your truth. And this begins by turning [00:08:00] inward, listening deeply, and trusting what you hear, even if it feels uncertain. Now let’s talk about reinvention.
This is where many of us get stuck. We’re ready for something new, but we’re afraid. We’re afraid of failing. We’re afraid of making the quote unquote wrong, move. We’re afraid of what others might think, and so we stay put. We stay stuck in a life that feels safe, but also feels small. And so here’s what I want you to know.
You are not too late. And you are not having to start all over from scratch. You are simply standing at a sacred threshold and every existence, every experience you have had up until now has prepared you for your next chapter. Reinvention does not mean erasing your past. It means [00:09:00] building on it. You are not abandoning who you were, you are integrating her into who you are becoming.
You don’t have to leap off a cliff. You don’t have to burn it all down or blow it all up. You simply need to take one step toward what makes you feel most alive. Maybe this is a boundary that you set and hold. Maybe it’s a new class you sign up for. Maybe it’s a conversation you finally have.
Whatever it is, it doesn’t have to be perfect. It just has to be true. Reinvention is not about changing everything. Reinvention is about aligning. Your choices and actions with your inner truth. So if you are [00:10:00] hearing the whisper of reinvention, trust it because what feels like an end right now is actually the beginning of something extraordinary.
So let’s bring it all together. If you’ve been feeling off or outta sync or like your life no longer fits, you are not alone and you are not in crisis.
You are simply at a turning point, a moment of deep initiation into the most aligned, authentic version of yourself. Remember that reinvention is most simply the return to the essence of the truth of who you are.
That truth before you began packaging yourself to be palatable to everyone else. Remember. The discomfort you’re feeling is an invitation to transformation.
People pleasing and perfectionism disconnect you from your truth. [00:11:00] Realignment will return you, and reinvention doesn’t require a grand gesture. It starts with one single brave step.
This is your time to rise. This is your time to reclaim. This is your time to reimagine and no matter how stormy things might feel right now, I promise you on the other side of this chapter is the most radiant sunrise you have ever seen.
You do not need to know every single step. You simply need to take the next one.
Thank you so much for being here with me today as we are reframing midlife crisis into midlife catalyst, catalyst for the opportunity for you to live the most aligned, [00:12:00] meaningful, fulfilling, satisfying life you can imagine if this episode has resonated with you.
Please share it with someone who might need a little light in their own dark night of the soul.
And as always, know that you are worthy of a life that reflects the truth of who you are. And so until we’re together next, keep moving forward. Your transformation is already underway.
Thanks so much for joining me today. I invite you to head on over to nancy levin.com to check out my books. Resources and ways for us to work together to help you create your most fulfilling life. If you’ve been impacted by this episode, please share it with someone who needs it, and please remember to subscribe for weekly episodes and leave a review.[00:13:00]
Bye for now.