Change as a Threshold, Not a Failure

There is a particular kind of discomfort that appears when familiar structures stop working but nothing has clearly replaced them yet.

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It often feels like failure.

Plans stall. Confidence wavers. Old strategies no longer produce the same results. The mind searches for mistakes, assuming something went wrong.

But many transitions do not begin with clarity.
They begin with thresholds.

A threshold is not a destination. It is a crossing point — a moment where one way of being can no longer continue, even though the next has not yet stabilized. From the inside, this feels disorienting. From the outside, it may look like stagnation.

In reality, thresholds are restructuring zones.

They require:

• releasing habits before replacements exist
• tolerating ambiguity without premature conclusions
• allowing identity to loosen temporarily

This can feel unproductive in a culture that values constant motion and certainty. Yet much of human growth happens precisely in these pauses.

If you find yourself questioning direction, meaning, or competence during periods of change, it may not indicate regression. It may signal that the previous framework has completed its role.

Not every pause is a problem to solve.
Some are crossings to recognize.

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About the author

Gerry explores themes of change, emotional awareness, and inner coherence through reflective writing. His work is shaped by lived experience during times of transition and is offered as an invitation to pause, notice, and reflect.

If you’re curious about the broader personal and spiritual context behind these reflections, you can read a longer note here.