I spend a portion of each week coaching people individually. It is a way for me to teach what I need to learn. By listening to another person talk, I learn about my life. By feeling into someone’s next level, I gain perspective on my next level. By teaching her how to take the next step, I learn how to take the next step. As I learn, I help others learn.
A woman once told me about how she wanted to support her young son and needed a job that would allow her to work from home. I saw the pain in her face as she talked about what she would do for her son. Nothing she could envision gave her any joy. She told me she’d had her chance at happiness and her time was past. Now it was her duty to help her son find the happiness that had eluded her. I asked her how she could help her son find something that she had not.
Reflection
All of us are teachers. Our life is our teaching. What is it you intend to teach? How will you teach it? Will you try to teach happiness while practicing despair? Will you teach joy while practicing love? What will you teach others about teaching?