This moment often arrives without language. There is no clear problem to solve, no obvious decision to make. Only a feeling, subtle but persistent, that something is ending, even if what comes next has not yet taken shape.

Belonging is commonly understood as something external, a place, a role, a community, a sense of being mirrored by the world around us. When these reference points begin to loosen, it can feel as though belonging itself has been lost.

In the absence of certainty, people tend to believe they must wait. That moving too soon will create mistakes, or that taking the wrong step will set them back. This belief can keep people suspended, waiting for confidence to arrive before they act.