EP 548: When Your Soul Part and Your Human Part, Seem to Have Different Priorities and Identities with Gihan

What happens when the person you've always been no longer feels like the person you're becoming? In this deeply thoughtful coaching session, Christine works with Gihan, who is navigating the space between her cultural and familial identity and the life her soul feels called to create. Living with her mother in Cairo, Gihan has been on a healing journey that has challenged old patterns of people-pleasing and encouraged her to question what she truly wants. She feels drawn toward a simpler life—possibly living abroad, spending more time near the beach, and creating a life that feels authentic to her. But that desire brings up a difficult question: Does she genuinely want a different life, or is she simply trying to escape the discomfort of becoming a different version of herself? As Christine and Gihan explore that question, the conversation moves into belonging, identity, family, spirituality, and the tension that can arise when your soul seems to be pulling you in a direction that looks different from the life, culture, or expectations you were born into. Christine offers an important reframe: transformation doesn't always have to be an either/or decision. Sometimes the path forward is both/and—honoring where you came from while also remaining loyal to where your soul is leading you. If you've ever felt caught between who you've been and who you're becoming, questioned whether following your truth means leaving something—or someone—behind, or struggled to honor both your spirituality and your humanity, this conversation will resonate. Press play to discover how you can follow your soul without abandoning the human parts of you that still need belonging, compassion, and connection. Consider / Ask Yourself Do you feel caught between the identity you've always known and the person you're becoming? Are you questioning whether a desire for change is intuition—or an attempt to escape discomfort? Do you fear that choosing your own path could cost you belonging, connection, or approval? Where are you thinking in either/or terms when a both/and approach may be possible? Key Insights and A-Ha's Transformation often requires a period of not fully knowing who you're becoming. Choosing a different path can activate a primal fear of losing belonging. Your soul's desires and your human needs don't have to be mutually exclusive. Spiritual growth doesn't require bypassing difficult human emotions like judgment, fear, jealousy, or uncertainty. Authenticity isn't about becoming a perfect version of yourself—it's about becoming more genuine. Our judgments can become powerful teachers when we get curious about what they're reflecting back to us. How to Deepen the Work Notice when you're framing a decision as either/or and ask whether there's a both/and possibility. When judgment arises, practice acknowledging it without shame and asking what it may be showing you about yourself. Offer compassion to the human parts of you that feel afraid when your soul calls you toward something unfamiliar. Give yourself permission to be in the middle of transformation without needing to immediately define your new identity.</li