Ep 093: Exhausted, Evolving or Ready to Rise? Discover Your Midlife Archetype

If you feel like you're cycling between burnout, big dreams, and wondering what tone Earth is next… you're not alone.

 Midlife isn't a straight line, it's a series of seasons. you don’t need more pressure… you need presence.

In this episode, I’m introducing the Midlife Presence Archetypes... four patterns I see again and again in the women I work with. 

Whether you’re craving deep rest, seeking direction, or standing at the edge of what’s next, there’s wisdom in knowing where you are right now.

You’ll learn:
 ✨ Why midlife often feels foggy - even when you’ve done “all the right things”
 🌿 How to work with your current season instead of against it
💛 The small but powerful shift that leads to aligned action
🔍 How to discover your archetype - and what it reveals about your next right step

💫 Take the Midlife Presence Archetype Quiz
Discover your current season, your support needs, and receive a breath practice to meet yourself with compassion.
  Take the quiz here

🌀 Book a Free Clarity Call
Need someone to sit with you in the fog and help you tune in to what’s next — without pressure or performance?
Let’s talk.
👉 Book your Clarity Call here

Thanks for listening to Rooted In Presence

If you’d like to get in touch with a question about today’s episode or find out how I can support you with coaching, here’s how to reach me:
📧 Email: carlykillenpt@gmail.com
📱 Instagram: @carlykillencoach

Do you crave unshakable confidence in your strength from midlife and beyond? Would you love to achieve your goals without sacrificing family time or self-care?

Ready to take your strength to the next level? Start building a stronger body and healthier bones with my Strong Bones Starter Kit; your step-by-step guide to safe and effective strength training at home.
👉 Click here to learn more and access today

🌟 Stay connected and inspired with daily wellness tips on Instagram @carlykillencoach
🌟 For tailored advice or personal queries, email me at carlykillenpt@gmail.com

Thank you for being here, and I look forward to supporting you on your journey to strength, health, and confidence! 💪🦴✨

Transcript

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Carly 0:46

Hello and welcome back to the Strong Bones Coach Podcast with me your host, Carie Killen. So welcome back and today I have something a little different to offer you something that's not about your next goal or another wellness plan, but perhaps a new way of seeing yourself. My hope for this podcast today and for the rest of the work that I do also is to create that space that goes deeper than to do list and wellness plans that don't account for the fact that you are a human, a whole person, and this is truly for the deep feelers, the cycle breakers, those quietly powerful women doing life differently, even when it feels messy, uncertain, or slow. Because we know what it's like in midlife. It has a way of shaking things up. Your body changes, your brain works differently. The things you use to push through now ask for gentler hands and the strategies that you used to work for you, they've just stopped working altogether. And maybe you are starting to ask yourself questions like, who am I now really though? What do I want next? Why do I feel so disconnected from my energy, my body, even my goals? So these questions, they're not things to run from. They're truly sacred. And in my coaching work, they come up all the time. So I decided to create something and it came all at once in quite a creative flare or a creative streak. I even had me staying up a little later and getting up a little earlier than usual. But don't worry, I have caught upon my rest since. So I've created something called the Midlife Presence Archetypes, and these are not here to be labels And they're not just personality types, but these are seasonal energies, ways of understanding where you are right now so you can move forward with more clarity, compassion, and confidence. And there's something I really want you to know with these. They are not permanent, they're not prescriptive. Just think of them like hats to try on. Or better yet, those weather patterns you move through. Each one offers insight direction. Find a way to meet yourself without judgment. So if that sounds like a different way to do things for you and perhaps it sparked your curiosity, let's dive in. So I wanna talk first about why I created these archetypes, and it starts with a little. Personal story. I guess I'd like to bring it back to the real life. Uh, when I first entered or first noticed I was entering perimenopause, I found myself completely disorientated. The rhythm of my whole day, just felt completely off. I had the house, I had the career. There was people that love me, but deeper down, something just felt like it was missing. I ticked all the boxes, but still felt unfulfilled. And I noticed the same things with my clients, and they're not lazy or unmotivated. They were in a season news territory, but with no map to guide them. No way to recognize or name what they were moving through. And that's when the archetypes began to form. I realized, I realize that like the seasons. Also like the moon. We move in cycles too. Even through midlife. Especially through midlife, and we're not meant to feel the same every day or chase growth in the same intensity all year round, especially as women. So these archetypes help to give language to those cycles to help you to see what's asking for your attention. Offer ways to respond that actually feel good to your body, mind, and spirit. So let me introduce you to the Midlife Presence archetypes. These are four energy patterns that show up when we stop pushing and we start listening. Before I do that, I want to remind you again, just one thing. These archetypes, they're not a destination 'cause this is a thing. They're just not. Another checkbox, something to put on your to-do list. another demand asking of your time and energy. They are invitations and you won't stay in one archetype forever. You might cycle through more than one in a single month, and that is the point. A way to meet yourself with curiosity instead of criticism and to know what's actually supportive for you, not just what social media says you should be doing in midlife. So with that covered off, let's explore the archetypes. there are four archetypes. The seeker, the restorer, the reclaimer, and the wayfinder. Let's go through each one in detail and see if you can feel into what might feel like you. Let's start with the seeker. Now, if you're in the season, you are very much in a season of sensing. You're feeling that things are shifting, but you're also feeling that nothing's really that clear either. There might be that inner restlessness that you just can't quite name a pull towards something deeper, more meaningful, but really feeling like you just don't have a map to follow. You really feel like you're lacking a sense of direction, and this is how it might show up in your life. You might find yourself scrolling legs at night reading. Tons and tons of self-development posts or books. You might be looking up, courses that you never quite sign up for, and when you do, you just don't finish them. You're on a constant search for more information, hoping that you'll find the right fix, or maybe it shows up with the clothes you wear. Maybe your wardrobe just suddenly feels off. The work you used to love also feels flat. Nothing's quite hitting the spot for you anymore. You might find yourself saying things like, I dunno who I am anymore, or I just feel like something's missing. So if these resonate with you, perhaps the archetype of the see is showing up for you right now, and here's what might make your life all the harder when you're surrounded by pressure to have a plan to make a decision to move forward, but rushing at this point, only going to lead you further away from yourself. Your real work here is to pause and listen even when everyone else is expecting action. And next we have the restorer. Let's see if you might align with this. If you do, you might feel like you are deeply depleted. Perhaps like your nervous system is totally fried and you can feel your body whispering or possibly screaming for rest and not as a reward has an absolute requirement. And it might show up with counseling plans last minute and feeling guilty about it, so you don't actually get the rest that you're looking for. Waking up tired, no matter how much sleep you've had. Struggling to concentrate like you're moving through fog. So hello, brain fog. Perhaps if you're experiencing this, you might be in that restorer archetype and you might hear yourself saying, I used to be able to do so much, but now even making dinner feels like a total mountain. And if you're not there to support yourself, life can get that little bit harder. Especially if you live in a culture that equates worth with productivity. And if you're over here in the west, in the uk, that's probably all of us, to be fair, unless we've already stepped out of it. And maybe you've always been the strong one who's always known for being able to push through to hold everybody else up. So when you do rest, it brings up discomfort, irritation. But perhaps you can let this be your rebellion. Maybe your nervous system needs stillness to recalibrate. uh, next we have the reclaimer. If you're in this phase, if this archetype is showing up for you, you are in a season of rebuilding but not from scratch this time from your own truth. You're beginning to reconnect with your needs, your values, your voice, after years or decades of suppression, and in your real life. Maybe you're starting to set boundaries for the first time, and this feels super scary, but totally right. Maybe you're finding new ways of moving, eating, resting, and not from a place of fixing yourself, but to truly get to know yourself. Maybe you're saying, I'm absolutely done with diets. I wanna feel like me again, not who I thought I had to be. Perhaps you're letting go of those old visions of yourself, perhaps when even your visions in the first place. But if you want to make your life feel a little bit harder right now and you're in this phase, you keep hold of those old habits and you pay attention to all those echoes of the old stories It's highly likely you are noticing people around you resisting the changes you're making. They want the old version of you. They might even throw some obstacles in your way. You might feel like you are right in the messy middle, no longer who you once were not quite sure who you're becoming, what that's even gonna look like. And perhaps you're a little afraid of who's gonna stick around. And this is where patients will provide you with that proof that this path is really gonna lead you to somewhere real. Finally we have the wayfinder. If this archetype is showing up for you, you are absolutely feeling ready for your next thing. No more hustle. You are absolutely ready to rise. Just like a phoenix, you're feeling grounded in your values and you've walked through that fog and you're starting to see what matters so much more clearly. This looks like speaking up more at work in relationships with yourself, that new level of honesty that you're not afraid to share, and you're making brave, aligned decisions, but at least you're feeling called to. Maybe you're thinking about changing careers, maybe launching a business, or finally putting your own needs first. Perhaps these things that used to just feel like a pipe dream. Feel like they could actually be a thing one day and soon. And maybe you're feeling that need to say, this is my time. I'm not doing things the old way anymore. But here's where you might get a little bit stuck. Where life might get a little bit harder for you because you might have others around you. I want you to go back to your old self, or they assume that now you're fine. You don't need supports. Asking for help when you're in this phase can sometimes feel a lot more tricky, but when you're walking this path of clarity, it still takes energy. You still need space to breathe, recalibrate, and to stay anchored in your truth without burning outs. So now that we've covered all four of them, you'll see that. Perhaps you resonate with them. Perhaps you can see where you might have already passed through at various points in your life. These are cycles. They come back around with an invitation to perhaps do things differently each time they show up. And each of these archetypes shows up in all of our journeys. They become more prevalent in midlife as we navigate perimenopause, as the hormones start shifting. But when you understand where you really are, everything else starts to make sense. So if you want to know where you are at right now, I have created a two minute quiz that helps you get a feel for what each archetype is most present in your life right now. It's short, it's soulful, and it might just give you the insight you need to take your next right step. And when you complete the quiz, you'll get access to a unique profile with deep insights about where you are and what you need. You'll get Nervous system, supportive breath practice tailored to your archetype and some clear next steps that feel doable, not demanding. 'cause your life doesn't need to be about pushing harder. It's about reconnecting with a part of you that already knows what you need. And if you already know. And you want support navigating this season, let's talk. You can book a free clarity call and we can sit with this together, and figure out what support feels most true for you. We're not fixing, we're not rushing. It's time to meet you exactly where you are and move from presence, not pressure. So if you're still listening, thank you for being here. I hope these archetypes truly serve you well, and I'll be back next week with another episode of The Strong Bones Podcast. So for now, stay strong. Take care.