If your life looks fine on paper but feels off on the inside, you should probably tune in for the Season 8 opener of The Big Four Oh, in which Stephanie McLaughlin shines a light on the very real midlife transition that nobody warns you about. Stephanie breaks down how midlife forces us to pause, listen, and rebuild from the inside out. With humor, honesty, and hard-won wisdom, she explains why everything that’s coming apart might actually be coming together. If you’ve been wondering, is this all there is?, this conversation is for you.

Season 8: The Truth About the Midlife Transition

Stephanie McLaughlin kicks off Season 8 of The Big Four Oh with a warm, wise, and funny solo episode that unpacks what really happens during the midlife transition. Forget the tired “midlife crisis” cliché; there are no red sports cars or blonde secretaries named Muffy here. Instead, Stephanie shares the real story: how our 40s invite us to pause, reevaluate, and rebuild our lives from the inside out. Drawing on lessons from Season 7’s guests, she maps out what midlife transformation actually looks like: messy, revealing, full of friction, and ultimately full of grace.

In this episode, Stephanie explores:

• The moment “The Ick” sets in; when life still looks fine on paper but feels off inside
• The shift from achievement mode to alignment mode, and why your old definition of success might no longer fit
• How subconscious rules and patterns formed in childhood quietly shape adult life
• The power of pausing, whether it’s intentional or forced by burnout, loss, or exhaustion
• Why stillness isn’t failure, but the space to find where your next chapter begins
• How creativity becomes a tool for healing and rebuilding confidence
• What it means to anchor your worth internally instead of chasing external validation

This episode is your midlife decoder ring; a guide to what’s breaking, what’s being rebuilt, and what it all means. Stephanie walks you through the patterns that surfaced in Season 7’s conversations and sets the tone for Season 8. It’s a compassionate, funny, and refreshingly real look at how midlife isn’t a crisis, but a renovation, and why you’re not late, you’re right on time for your own life.

If you enjoy the show, please rate, follow, and share The Big Four Oh wherever you listen. It helps other people find the podcast, and reminds them they’re not alone on this midlife journey.

Do you have the Midlife Ick? 

Download Stephanie’s guide to the Ick to diagnose whether you or someone you love is suffering from this insidious midlife malaise. www.thebigfouroh.com/ick

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The Big Four Oh Podcast is produced and presented by Savoir Faire Marketing/Communications