Choosing Your Crossing: Disruption as a Deliberate Act

Every spring, stadiums surge with anticipation. Families lean in, phones poised. Names ring out, one after another. Caps fly. Hands clasp. Diplomas land in sweaty palms. Graduation doesn’t just mark a moment—it creates one: the crossing from what was into what’s next.

For the graduates, that trembling threshold—what we call liminal space—suspends identity, strips away old roles, and makes room for someone new to emerge.

What if life offers no ceremonial stage?

Not every transition comes with a formal event or a farewell toast.  Some arrive unannounced—a project canceled, a friendship fading, or a morning when the alarm rings for a role you no longer recognize. Without formal markers, days can merge into each other and growth stalls in the gaps. Yet the absence of ceremony doesn’t mean the absence of possibility; it simply means we must learn to recognize and honor our own thresholds, even when the applause is silent.

We can curate our own catalysts.

A catalyst, in this context, is an intentional disruption—something that shakes us out of routine and into discomfort. And discomfort matters. The more immersive the disruption, the more it breaks through our old patterns and makes space for change. This isn’t about setting a goal; it’s about cracking the walls of what feels familiar. A catalyst might be the hobby that scares you, the conversation you keep dodging, or the environment that challenges everything you thought you knew. When we choose to step off the well-worn path—on purpose—we don’t just endure change; we initiate it. We design our own liminal spaces and decide who we’re becoming.

So here’s the question:

Are you inviting disruption—or just waiting for it?

If you’re ready, start with:
- Sign up to compete in a challenge-race.
- Audition for a role in a community theater production.
- Volunteer for a position that demands your time and requires new skills.
- Commit to a long-term learning project–learning a musical instrument or a foreign language.  Take up a martial art.
- Sign up for a stretch-role at work–one that really makes you question how you’ll succeed.  A new exercise routine or challenging race

Whatever you decide, just make sure it feels uncomfortable. Discomfort signals you’ve entered liminal space—and that’s where transformation begins.

Liminal space isn’t easy. Most avoid it. But leaders with clarity and resilience enter the tension, stay, and emerge sharper.

So choose something that scares you just enough—and step forward anyway.

Because no one crosses a threshold by standing still.

Step in. Stay with it. Let it change you.