Meet Kate Higgins, a licensed therapist-turned-coach for midlife women
I’m a licensed therapist turned coach for women in midlife. I’m a classic genX girl who took the scenic route through my 20s and 30s. When I hit my 40s, a series of life events kicked my butt but ultimately helped me to figure out who I am and what I want. Last year, I took a voluntary lay-off from my corporate job and launched my business: Your Magical Midlife. I’m here to help women not just endure menopause but to celebrate it. I do individual coaching, small group coaching, and intimate retreats that include rituals and rites of passage to initiate women into their Empress phase of life.
I’m in the midst of:
TRANSFORMATION. Launching my company has been a giant learning curve. I have never been self-employed, and it was a huge risk. I have learned so much about myself-being an entrepreneur is challenging, terrifying but ultimately the most rewarding thing I have done.
The best thing about my current age (53, soon to be 54):
Learned Resilience. I love the confidence that comes with surviving the many knocks life inevitably serves up by the time you are 50. I have survived a cross-country move, the death of my mother, caring for my father, who has dementia, ovarian cancer, a radical hysterectomy, and leaving my corporate job for a life of my choosing. With each bump in the road, I have become more sure-footed.
The best thing I’ve done for myself in this stage of life:
Consciously changing the conversation in my mind around aging. In my 30s, I was already worried about menopause and aging. I’m so grateful that I was able to shift my mindset and find joy in my own growth, change, and evolution.
My current must-haves in life:
A full 8 hours of sleep, a daily gratitude practice, daily long walks, and friends who I can be vulnerable with.
What brought you to The Midst:
I stumbled on The Midst, looking for community and connection with other women my age. So much of our media is about “fixing” ourselves at this stage. I love that The Midst is about celebrating who we are now.
What I want most for/from the community of women I surround myself with:
I am always looking for a genuine, honest connection. At this stage of my life, I am surrounding myself with people I can be vulnerable and real with. I don’t want to pretend all is perfect when it isn’t. And I want others to feel safe enough with me that they can be their full and messy selves.
My Grown-Ass Lady heroes:
Naomi Watts, Drew Barrymore, Terry Cole, Frida Kahlo, Josephine Baker, Judy Blume, Dr Ruth Westheimer
What progress do you hope to see in society for future generations of women?
I hope that someday soon, there is no stigma around menopause and aging. I wasted so much time agonizing over it, and now that I am on the other side, I regret how much I tormented myself. It’s hard to let go of the identity of youth, but being in midlife is so cool. You still have so much ahead of you, so many new things to explore and dreams to aspire to. I hope to be a woman who shows others that aging can be fun and expansive rather than a dead end.
What’s next:
I am in the process of launching a small group coaching program that celebrates menopause rather than trying to fix it. As a woman who white-knuckled it through perimenopause, I hope to help women reconnect to their innate joy, magic, and intuition. There is a reason it’s called “the change,” but the change can be one for the better, and I want all women to know that.
