Tips for Living Wicca: List Your Accomplishments

I notice that a lot of people are just too dang hard on themselves-- they're harder on themselves than on other people. They don't give themselves a break. They spend so much time harping on their failures or mistakes, that they totally take their accomplishments for granted. 

Perhaps some people are taught that pride is a 'sin', and that it's more virtuous to be modest and humble. Thus, giving oneself credit for something seems almost shameful. 

Does any of this sound familiar to you? Is it you, or maybe someone you love?

The problem with this kind of thinking is that it totally crushes the self-esteem. Your self-esteem is important-- it's your self worth. It's how you value yourself. 

Think about how you treat things for a minute: how do you treat some silly little trinket that means absolutely nothing to you? Now, how do you treat things that you value greatly? You probably will notice a vast difference. If you don't value yourself, how are you going to treat yourself?

In Wicca, the Gods are not just who we honor; they are part of us. We are part of them. Everyone has that spark of the Divine within. We are all sacred.

We believe in striking a healthy balance in all things in life. This includes things like pride and modesty. Neither are healthy in excess, but then neither are healthy in absence either. Imagine yourself standing with your two arms out, holding dishes like a live version of an old-fashioned set of scales. Pride is on one dish, and modesty is on the other. Too much of one and too little of the other will have you tipping over. You need to bring them into balance for a healthy, productive life.    

They say it's important for people to have at least one accomplishment of which they can be proud, because it helps to build confidence and foster a health self-esteem. But when we ignore our accomplishments or take them for granted, we miss that little lesson. 

My Tip for You Today: Write a list of your accomplishments. 

Sit down and think about everything you've ever accomplished in your life-- all your achievements, all the goals that you've ever met, anything that you're proud of.

Can't think of anything? Then this entire post is probably about you-- of course you have accomplishments! Start thinking of small things, like something you learned how to do: can you sew? Cook? Garden? Play an instrument? Not everyone can-- congratulations!

It might be personal goals-- have you learned to balance your checkbook and juggle your finances successfully? Have you gotten a good job, and become self-sufficient? Have you organized your home, and made it a comfortable and practical space that you enjoy? Have you managed to have a happy marriage for 10 years? 20 years? More? Have you been a loyal caregiver to someone, or a steadfast employee?

The more you begin thinking about your accomplishments, the more accomplishments you will begin to remember. Do not belittle anything, telling yourself that it's 'not a big deal'... every single thing you have personally accomplished is something others have and continue to struggle with. 

Put your list in your Book of Shadows, journal or on the fridge-- and begin adding to it regularly to remind yourself of how much you are truly worth!

Share some of your accomplishments here!

Tips for Living Wicca: Take an E-break

Do you ever find yourself saying you have no time to meditate, do a ritual, exercise/eat right, get outdoors, read, involve yourself in other hobbies, etc.? Do you ever feel like you are not spending enough time with your family or closest real-life friends? Do you have chores you're always complaining you can't get to?

Is it possible you are wasting too much time in front of a screen?

Electronics have totally transformed the modern world and become a vital part of our everyday lives. I remember when you needed a phone number you turned to the phone book. For a recipe, you looked through books or files. To get directions, you got out a map. To pay a bill, you broke out your checkbook, and grabbed for some envelopes and stamps. Now we do all these things with electronics. For many of us, electronic devices are vital to work or get information quickly, and it'd be impossible to go without it.

That in itself isn't a problem-- what is a problem is the way electronics dominate some of us sometimes. Some of us just don't know when to shut down the computer, or put down the Ipod. Some of us don't even REALIZE how much time we waste on the computer in a day. Studies show that the average adult spends 8.5 hours per day in front of a screen!

If you deducted necessary tasks ( like working, paying bills or finding an address on GPS) from the time spent in front of a screen each day, how much time would that leave you on the computer for unnecessary tasks (like using the computer to goof off from work, watching TV, wasting time on Facebook or video games)? 

Would unnecessary time add up to more than an hour? More than two? More than 3 or 4? 

Are you sure you don't have time for things? Or are you wasting a lot of time on the wrong things?

In Wicca, we strive for a healthy balance in life in things that we do. There's nothing wrong with spending some time every day in front of a screen for entertainment/social media, but if it's more than 30 or 60 minutes and you find you don't have time for other things, it's fair to say you might have an imbalance you want to tend to.



My Tip for you Today: Schedule a daily hour-long "electronics break" and force yourself to drop all screen-based activities.  

Take a daily E-break and turn off, or turn away from, all screen-based electronics and phones (it's fine to listen to music while you do other things though). Now that you've freed up that hour-- what else can you find time to do? 

Maybe you can split it up-- 30 minute E-break in the morning and a 30 minute E-break after dinner. Put the time to good use and see if you can't find more balance in your life. You may decide to lengthen your E-break. 

Does the idea of getting away from gadgets frighten you or stress you out?

Do you worry you  might have an electronics addiction?

Discuss:

Tips for Living Wicca: Declutter Your Space

I used to be messy. Like- really messy. Ugh, my small bedroom floor at home was a sea of clothes, papers, blankets, garbage. Every surface was covered in clutter. 

When I got my own apartment (well, it was a garage, an illegal rental really), my mess got even worse without my mother to nag me. 

Part of it I think was just rebellion. My parents were sucky parents. I love them, but yes they were. Partially abusive partially neglectful, and totally focused on all the wrong things, they made one huge mistake after another. One issue was that they were neat freaks. Having every single thing in its proper place, exactly right, was more important than anything else going on-- it was more important than spending time with me, more important than my feelings or my interests. 

When I was younger I never had to do chores. My mother did ALL the cleaning, always~ just stay out of her way. And pick up after yourself if you were done with something. A plate in the sink, a water splash on the counter, a smudge on the floor, or -- heaven forbid! -- the dish towel getting dirty or too wet-- well, these things were literally considered "disaster" (her word).

One time my friend knocked over a cup on the table-- the closest thing was my mother's clean, ironed dish towel hanging on the little rack. Before I could say anything, my friend grabbed it and blotted the red dyed juice to prevent it from spilling on the floor. I gasped and my eyes went wide, it was like she had just committed a felony right in front of me! And I knew, no matter what, I was going to get the blame big time (and boy, did I ever).

All they wanted me to do was watch TV and read-- clean activities. So if they came home, I could have the best news, like a great grade, or the worst news, like bullies had beaten me and stolen my lunch money-- but nothing mattered if the house wasn't perfect. Even though I was so artistic, painting was "too messy" and even drawing was messy because of the little eraser bits.

So between having no sense of responsibility and  just hating the very idea of cleaning and chores, I was a total slob. I'm embarrassed to say it now, but I set my altar up and invited my Gods and guardian spirits and ancestors into my home right there in the middle of a real disaster area.

Somewhere down the line, I realized just what a drain this mess was on me. And I began to learn about energy, and how negative energy was like dust-- how it held onto things, built up, got stored in little pockets, trapped. Getting my life together largely involved getting my home and stuff together. I approached it not with a concern for aesthetics, but for convenience-- order. Drop-box organizing. A place for everything. Categories. Labels. 

I had to be hard on myself to keep it up but eventually, it began to take. My life did get better when the mess got cleared and the negativity got cleansed-- it was like lifting a heavy weight off me, it freed me and it gave me more energy. By getting my environment in order, I was freed and had more energy to get my life in order. 


My Tip for You Today:

Look around your environment-- is there any clutter or any chaos that is getting in your way of getting ordered, organized and progressing in life? Maybe it's time to tackle it. In Wicca we strive for balance-- and being too messy or being too neat is not very balanced.

What's too much? I don't know-- that depends on you. Everyone's balancing point is different. For some people, a space that's functional and attractively decorated is the ideal balance-- for others, just having semi-categorized areas for stacks and just cleaning up the real dirt is all it takes. 

If you feel overwhelmed because it's a big job, and you've been too frazzled, depressed or stressed to deal with it (which, by the way, probably means you need it more than you think you do), then start small-- tackle a drawer today. A shelf tomorrow. One corner or one surface the day after that. Little by little it'll start coming together, and give you the strength and motivation to forge ahead. 

Do you struggle with keeping order in your life? 

Does it affect you like ripples in a pond? 

Talk to me...