Key Points:
- Midlife is a state of mind, not just an age – It’s defined by reflection, questioning, and the desire to live more intentionally, rather than by a specific decade.
- Key questions signal your midlife transition – Ask yourself: “Who am I now?”, “What do I truly want?”, and “What can I contribute in this next chapter?”
- Midlife is a threshold of possibility – Rather than a crisis, it’s an opportunity to reinvent yourself, embrace creativity, and reclaim your purpose.
I get asked this question all the time: “Am I in midlife?”
Usually, people are hoping I’ll give them an age range—something tidy like “between 40 and 60.” But honestly? I don’t think there’s an easy answer.
We’ve been taught to measure life stages by decades, but the more women I meet, the more I realize that midlife is not defined by a birth date.
It’s a state of mind—a season of questioning, when the life you’ve been living suddenly feels… up for review.
It can arrive in your 40s, your 50s, your 70s—or in the middle of a Tuesday when you least expect it.
The Questions That Signal Midlife
For me, “midlife” begins the moment you start asking:
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Is this all there is?
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Who am I now—after the roles I’ve played have shifted or fallen away?
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What am I here to contribute before I leave this planet?
These questions can be triggered by big life events—a career change, a divorce, a health scare, the death of someone we love—or they can quietly grow in the background until they can no longer be ignored.
Why It’s Not a Crisis, But a Threshold
The term midlife crisis has gotten a bad reputation—images of sports cars, drastic haircuts, or impulsive life decisions.
But for many of us, this isn’t a crisis at all. It’s a threshold.
A moment of awakening where we realize the autopilot setting is no longer working.
It’s a season of possibility.
You might feel restless or uncertain. You might feel called to reinvent, reclaim, and rewrite your story. You might feel the urge to strip away what no longer fits so you can make space for what’s next.
Hi, I'm Minette. I am 60. Am I Still in Midlife?
I’m 60. Am I still in midlife? I've been asking myself this a lot lately.
Some days I feel like I just got here.
Other days I wonder if there’s a “next next life” waiting in the wings.
That’s the thing—there’s no finish line for this phase. There’s just the ongoing work (and joy) of becoming.
Living From Midlife
Whether you’re 45 or 75, whether you’ve just begun to question or you’ve been dismantling and rebuilding for years, here’s what I believe:
Midlife is the invitation to live more awake, more curious, and more on purpose.
It’s the call to:
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Stop living by default.
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Tell yourself the truth about what you want.
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Recognize that it’s not too late for a bold new chapter.
So instead of asking “Am I in midlife?” maybe the better question is:
“Am I living fully from the life I have now?”
Because that is where the real transformation begins.
If this season of life has you rethinking who you are and what’s next, that’s where my work comes in. I help midlife women reclaim their purpose, reimagine their future, and create the next chapter with clarity, creativity, and courage.
Let me know in the comments below where you are in "midlife" and what it means to you. I'd love to hear from you.
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