That in-between stage has been nicknamed “the rumble.” Brené Brown uses that phrase to describe the messy, uncomfortable work of facing hard truths and rewriting our stories. And honestly, doesn’t that sound exactly like midlife?
Because let’s be real: midlife isn’t just about trading skinny jeans for stretchy waistbands. It’s about the rumble inside—the identities melting down. The career trophies, the parenting roles, the external gold stars… all the stuff that once defined us starts to feel kind of… gooey.
And goo is uncomfortable. It’s confusing. It’s the 3 a.m. “what am I doing with my life?” spiral. But goo is also where the magic begins. In that soup, your imaginal cells (yes, that’s a real thing) start whispering the blueprint for who you’re becoming. They don’t care about your résumé or your LinkedIn endorsements. They care about your wings.
So if you feel like you’re in the rumble—half-soup, half-butterfly—don’t panic. You’re not broken, you’re becoming. As Brene reminds us, rumbling with vulnerability is the path to rising strong. And in midlife, that means trusting that the goo isn’t the end of the story. It’s the messy middle before you take flight.
Midlife isn’t a crisis. It’s a chrysalis. And if you’re rumbling right now, trust me: your wings are on the way. And, if you haven’t caught my new podcast the MIDLIFE CHRYSALIS yet, which is generating more than 100,000 downloads per month. The Liz Gilbert episode went live yesterday and her new book “All the Way to the River” was published on Tuesday. She will be joining us again for an MEA workshop “Awakening Magic” in Baja in February. Sign up now because we always have a waiting list of almost 100 people for these once a year workshops with Liz and her friend Dr. Tererai Trent.
-Chip