Hi Reader,
One of my biggest lessons on this journey of life, entrepreneurship, creativity and self-expression has been understanding the difference between what I'm meant to teach and what I'm meant to learn.
And the reason I say that is because I often reflect on how our zone of genius is at the intersection of the two.
I know, for me, my journey has shown me that I have often conflated what I myself am meant to be learning for my own healing with what I'm meant to be teaching others.
And like I said, there's definitely an overlap, but the distinction matters.
When I first left my corporate job in 2018, I immediately started doing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion work within organizations - I had a whole a** consultancy around it.
And at the time, it was a huge focus in the world, but it was also deeply connected to my own racial trauma that I was very much experiencing in real time while also trying to teach about it.
That approach didn't last and honestly blew up in my face quite dramatically but it was a critical lesson for me....... and I slowly started to realize:
Hmmmm......maybe the things that I desperately need for myself aren't necessarily what I need to be fully talking about or teaching professionally.
But maybe there are *aspects* of it that I can bring into my work in a different way.
I did the same thing with energy work and energetic hygiene.
Yes, I very much include that in my work, but it's not my entire focus.
It was - and still is - very much something I was meant to be learning and will always be learning. I can include elements of it in what I'm teaching and bringing to the world, but I realized it's not THE thing.
You see what I'm saying?
Sometimes, very understandably, we get really focused on and excited about what we're meant to be learning for ourselves. That excitement is natural - we feel so connected, so lit up by it.
And sometimes that IS the thing we're meant to teach, which is why I believe that is where our zone of genius actually lives - not all the way in the teaching end of the spectrum and not all the way on the learning one.
Somewhere in the middle.
I feel that way about EFT Tapping - strongly. But I've also come to realize that EFT is actually part of my skill set.
It's for my own healing, yes, but it's also something I am highly trained in and genuinely part of what I know in my soul I'm meant to bring into the world.
I also feel that way about creativity and self-expression.
I can talk about those things for the rest of my life and not get tired of it, it's easy to do so and I have both the lived experience and training.
(If you are familiar with your Human Design profile, I would also check to see what your Sun, Mercury and Pluto gate numbers are and then look more into them here to help see if you are on the right path).
But not everything fits that pattern.
I think part of the wisdom we can cultivate is understanding the difference, because when we start to conflate what we ourselves are meant to just learn with what we're meant to be teaching and vise versa, something gets lost.
It takes some of the impact away from our own healing journey, because we're always seeing it through the lens of, "How can I share this with someone else?"
Not everything's meant to be shared.
Not every part of our healing and life journey, not every part of what we're experiencing and working through, is meant to become content or teaching material.
And alternatively, what have we "learned" about but have little to no tangible, lived or embodied experience around?
And I know I've definitely done all of the above. It's not a judgment. It's just a recognition.
How can we hold sacred the things that we are meant to be healing and learning on our own journey?
What does our embodied teaching - not just from some knowledge in our head or something we are regurgitating from someone else - look and feel like?
So in terms of finding our zone of genius, I know there are a lot of ways to look at it, but I do feel like understanding what that specific intersection is for you is a huge part of the journey.
It shapes how you want to express yourself and your gifts to the world, especially if you're trying to build a business from that place (but you don't have to be).
Reflection Prompts: Finding Your Teaching vs. Learning Zone
For Your Body Wisdom:
- When you think about something you're currently learning that excites you, where do you feel that in your body? Now think about something you know you're meant to teach - does it create a different physical sensation? What's the difference?
For Your Nervous System:
- Notice when you talk about different areas of interest... which ones regulate your nervous system as you share them? Which ones subtly dysregulate you because you're still integrating them yourself?
Integration Exercise:
- Make two lists: "What I'm Learning" and "What I'm Teaching"
- Circle the items that appear on both lists
- For each circled item, close your eyes and ask: "Is this primarily for my healing, primarily for my teaching, or genuinely both?"
- Notice what your body tells you before your mind jumps in
I get it... the excitement to share our newest healing discoveries is real.
And I want to be so abundantly clear that this isn't about NOT sharing about what we may be learning.
I think, depending on the topic, it can be an important and liberating practice to share what we're learning both for ourselves and also for others who might be going through similar things.
I am specifically talking about sharing those lessons or learnings with the intention of wanting to also teach about them (or build a brand / business).
We don't need to be experts, but I do believe we need to have at least embodied that learning in such a way that we not only have an experience rooted in wisdom and integrity but where we also get to feel joy and ease in sharing it.
This Week's Tapping Sequence: Distinguishing Your Teaching from Your Learning Zone
When you feel confusion around whether something is meant to be part of your work or just for your personal journey, try this quick sequence:
Bring to mind whatever topic is showing up for you around this and notice what happens in your body.
Take a deep breath, feel your feet on the floor and repeat out loud or in your mind as you slowly go through these points, tapping 7-9 times on each one:
- Side of Hand: Even though I'm not sure if this is for me to learn or for me to teach, I have compassion for where I am in this process.
- Top of Head: This confusion around this topic (say the topic)
- Eyebrow: How do I know the difference?
- Side of Eye: Maybe my body knows the difference
- Under Eye: When it's meant to be taught...
- Under Nose: It feels different in my nervous system
- Chin: When it's just for my learning...
- Collarbone: That has a different energy
- Under Arm: I trust my body to show me the difference
- Top of Head: My nervous system knows the way
Notice any shifts in your body or in how you're approaching this topic now.
This by no means is meant to give you all of the answers but may help in providing you a little bit more space around the answer revealing itself to you when it's ready to do so.
If this resonates and you'd like to explore it more deeply, I have a few spots this month left for "Express Yourself: EFT Tapping for Self-Expression & Creative Freedom" as well as "Take the Leap: EFT Tapping for Major Moves & Inner Trust"
Have questions about the EFT process? Reply to this email or book a free clarity call here.
Till next time,
Bianca