As I have been writing about courage during liminal times, I have heard from a few people about their stories of change. Courage is most easily recognized looking back on a liminal time that you’ve resolved. During change there is so much uncertainty that it is hard to tell the story. If you are going through a liminal time in your life, I hope that you give yourself credit for all the ways that you move forward when life is shifting under your feet. 

Throughout the liminal process, there are themes that show up repeatedly: 

See clearly: Surveying your situation, as you see things in a new way. New information or your own changing perspective can radically impact your sense of reality, and your plans. 

Experiment: As change occurs, you have the opportunity to experiment with new ideas or ways of being. Choosing to be a beginner allows for growth and learning. 

Act: You will make decisions based on your new perspective and situation. Whether internal shifts or outward changes, your actions move you to a new way of living. 

Acknowledge: No two people find the same things hard in just the same way. Give yourself, and fellow travelers, full credit for doing the things that are hard. 

These themes swirl around each other in a cycle of change and insight, learning and acting, experimenting and realizing. Your courage will be needed in quiet times as you consider the bigger picture and in busy times as you meet the demands of life. You will need courage to ask for help and to live into your own decisions. 

Liminal times evoke a lot of emotions. You may feel anxious, angry, or constantly annoyed. You may feel excited, hopeful, or intrigued. You could feel all this in a short amount of time depending on your specific journey. You build courage as you care for yourself while moving forward.  

Even if you initiated change, liminal journeys are often more exhausting than expected. If life has changed in ways you did not invite, you will not have had any time to plan. Whatever the source of the change, your usual routines and strategies will need adjustment. Courage is found not in one heroic moment but in each step you take to move forward in an unclear journey.  

Courage is not reserved for extraordinary people. It shows up in the way you keep looking at your situation with fresh eyes, experiment with possibilities, take the next right step, and acknowledge the effort it takes to keep going.  Like resilience, courage is a habit that strengthens as you use it, allowing you to move toward a life of thriving during liminal times. 

Peace,
Laura