In therapy, it’s often not the biggest moments in our lives that shape us but the quiet ones that plant a belief we carry for years. Let me share a story about a client we’ll call James. The Moment It Started James came to therapy wanting to work through a memory from middle school. It was the first day back at school. He stood in the cafeteria, trying to decide where to sit for lunch. Then, almost instantly, a powerful feeling came over him: “I don’t belong.” That belief stu