For years, culture painted midlife as a crossroads of decline — the point where youth fades and the best days are supposedly behind us. I never bought into that story. Maybe it’s the coach in me, or maybe it’s the part of me that’s learned the hard way that endings are often disguised beginnings. What I see — in my clients, in friends, and in my own life — is not decline. It’s awakening. Midlife isn’t a crisis; it’s a recalibration. It’s the body whispering, “Slow down and li