If you are TEACHING people something, that is a sacred relationship.
When two people engage in a “teaching” capacity with each other, at least one of the humans (but often both) are admitting that they don’t know something, are unsure about something, or have an insecurity about something.
And they are entrusting in someone else to help them learn and grow.
That is so freaking special.
Some loving reminders for you as you teach people things:
#1. Honor yourself, your energy, your time as you enter into this space with other people. Most of them will be lovely and make you feel so awesome for doing this. But some will suck and you can feel free to delete their comments, block them, or ignore them.
#2. Realize that people deserve safety from the people that they learn from in this way. This means you are a leader. With leadership comes responsibilities. You might have to address topics, behavior, feelings, and more that you normally wouldn’t think to talk about.
#3. It’s okay to not be everything for everyone. I know that my content is not meant for all plant parents. And that is okay. However, I’m making my content because I know that there is a ton of plant content out there that is already not for a lot of people. Low energy people, people with depression, people with young kids. So while some people might not need my content, that’s okay with me because I know many people do need
my content because they aren’t getting it somewhere else.
#4. Teachers mess up. Teachers don’t have all the answers. Here’s a secret about teaching— people don’t need to learn from the person who knows it all. They need to learn from someone they can trust and who will be there for them. Who will be honest. Who will be gentle and kind. So even if you are only one video ahead of your audience in terms of knowing “it all” that’s perfectly okay because ultimately what they need, what they are looking for, is someone and someplace to accept them in their search for answers and community.
#5. What matters here is you, your voice, your approach, your presence, your values. The content is secondary. Let’s say I taught people about shoes. I would still be teaching about shoes the same way I teach about houseplants—through my values of gentleness, simplicity, accessibility, and wellbeing. You are not required to share your whole life story to your “students.” But they’re going to learn way more and way better from a HUMAN with a voice, with values, with connection, with care. And that can certainly come through your content without having to share every single thing about your life. Be clear about your values, what you stand for, what you won't stand for, and share updates with your community as your beliefs, values, and interests evolve.
Some Questions to Consider:
What are some things other people do that help you feel safe to learn?
How can you show your "students" AKA followers that you care about them as people in your content?
Why does what you have to share matter to YOU?