The Metamorphosis Within – Embracing the Messiness of Personal Transformation

As we reach mid-life, a strange thing often happens. We can start feeling like things just didn’t work out as planned. This can lead to questions like “How did I get here?” and “Who am I?”  These questions from our soul can be disconcerting, leading us to suppress them and stay the course. But the longer we ignore them, the louder the voice becomes.

Ultimately, must make a choice.  We can suppress them, often with distractions like work, alcohol, drugs, affairs, and other destructive behavior. Or we can answer our soul’s calling and seek to examine our lives to see where the answers lie.

The desire for change often stems from a profound sense of being stuck, an underlying discontent of unfulfilled potential. At any age, but especially from 40 to 65, we are ripe for this transition when the sum of our experiences just doesn’t add up as expected.

An examined life can lead to a transformation that is as disquieting as compelling. Transformation is not merely a change; it’s a profound metamorphosis, echoing the caterpillar’s journey to becoming a butterfly.

Transformation, in its essence, is not a clean process. It’s a dissolution of the old before the new can emerge. The caterpillar becomes unrecognizable goo before reforming as a butterfly. In the mid-life transition, our identities dissolve into a liminal space: messy, confusing, and often laden with a sense of loss. Deconstructing old identities, beliefs, and values leaves space for new possibilities.

Caterpillars possess an innate drive, along with instructions encoded into its their DNA, to become butterflies. And while humans also have the drive to maximize their potential, we lack the blueprint for the transformation. Furthermore, caterpillars don’t suffer the same fears and insecurities we do when it comes to change. They just get on with their metamorphosis.

A coach with a map of the human psyche can provide the blueprint for transformation.  We all need someone to hold the light up to our chrysalis, ask the right questions, provide reflection, and sometimes challenge us to look deeper.

With the right guide, the mid-life journey can be fulfilling and lead to a life of joy and deep satisfaction. A coach can provide the protective space of understanding and support where the self can meet the soul, ready to unfurl new wings.