The Power of the Liminal Space: Lessons from Pivots & Pivotal Moments

Four countries. Nine cities. Two graduate degrees. Multiple businesses started, and some closed.

I have spent most of my adult life living in the liminal space.

It’s the uncomfortable in-between. The void between what was and what is about to be.

Liminal space is a strange place to exist. You’ve left the old identity behind, but you haven't fully arrived at the new one yet.

The old job is gone. The old city is gone. The old business is closed. And the new chapter isn't fully written.

I felt it when I walked away from a well-paying job to get an MBA and a PhD, wondering if either would ever pay off.

I felt it launching my first side hustle.

I felt it years later, closing a business I had poured five years of my soul into building.

And I feel it right now, building a new practice from the ground up.

It isn't just a work thing, either. I’ve stood in that exact same uncertain middle ground in my health and in my personal relationships. In the version of myself I wasn't quite done becoming.

When you're standing in the middle, it can be terrifying. The ground under your feet feels unstable. Your brain wants to force a decision, any decision, just to make the discomfort stop.

But here is what I’ve learned about the liminal space:

Growth doesn't happen when you’re comfortable in the old chapter, and it doesn't happen once you've already arrived at the destination.

It happens right in the unglamorous middle, when you are forced to adapt, stretch, and let go of who you used to be.

The uncertainty isn't a sign that you're lost. It’s proof that you're being prepared for what’s coming next.

I used to think the liminal space was something to survive.

Now I know it's something to trust.

If you’re in the in-between right now, don't rush through it. Let it build you.