I found this comment today in my “Secrets of the Witch” card deck today created by Lucy Cavendish:
Farewell Fear
“Better it is to rush upon this sword, than to enter this circle with fear in your heart…”
“Witches trust and have courage! The Witch offers you these empowering qualities, magickal one!”
This resonated with me from the work perspective today. Too often I’ve started my work days with worries and fears about having time to get things done, or living up to others’ expectations, or facing difficult customers, and honestly, I just don’t want to live that way anymore in any aspect, but in this context as it relates to my job.
I decided about last August to make a conscious effort to stay confident and begin and carry on through my work day without fear…regardless of who I was interacting with. And, to not allow anyone, again regardless of who they were, to project negativity to me. I politely but firmly will use Laurie Cabot’s expression “I can’t accept what you are saying to me right now” when needed, and will shut down any attempts that come close to approaching an overbearing or intimidating projection towards me. Finally, I don’t let myself be concerned with what the consequences will be regarding my boundaries that I’m setting. If I did, I would quickly revert to my old ways and the fear and anxiety would begin to creep in again. So, another conscious choice and effort to actively NOT worry about reactions to my boundaries.
I’ve been doing all this since August and I can honestly report that I go into each work day now feeling strong and calm. And, no one’s tried to challenge me in any way…but they certainly understand the boundaries.
I just thought I’d share in case anyone else may be dealing with similar fear or anxiety. I think part of being a witch is to work to embrace your power…in all situations. It takes effort as some of us are grappling with our past ingrained tendencies to concede too often when we should not have to…or we tend to placate others in tense situations…or perhaps we are the “peacemaker” in meetings or conversations and as a result, we’ve weakened our stance or belief for the sake of placating a bully or intimidator.
Sometimes you just have to face down fear and say no more.
I don’t have issues setting boundaries at work. I believe it is because I was mentored by some very strong women in science during my master’s work who taught me to keep my chin up and not take any BS from anyone.
My personal life is a different story. There I tend to be the peacekeeper as you mentioned. I will bite my tongue or “give in” to others so that tensions are released and “I’m not being a Bitch.” I need to work on this!
Don’t mind me borrowing this and adding it to my own phrase vocabulary- it’s such a polite yet powerful way to set your boundaries. It kind of feels like drawing a protective circle around yourself using only your words I love it!
This really resonated with me Wow- the power of a witch really is holistic, isn’t it? It doesn’t exist only during spellwork or just while doing “witchy things”, it is something that can be channeled and embraced all the time to enhance and improve our lives.
Standing ovation for you, Satu- your post was beautifully written! Thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts
Thank you Bry! I’m glad you found some value in my post. I think it’s important to remember to “reap the benefits” of our work as witches. We all work hard at our craft here, and that work can and should result in benefits that improve our whole lives.
And I’d be remiss not to also thank @christine13@Susurrus and @Amaris_Bane for your encouragement and support of my thoughts in this post as well as your perspectives. I consider each of you, along with @BryWisteria to be powerful witches. I respect each of you and your opinions and support. I have great regard for strong women in fact (even when we ourselves don’t always feel particularly strong some days).
There is strength in this coven that I draw upon and try to contribute to when I think I’m able.
This is the kind of stuff I read that really fills me with pride for my love of the Craft. This touches on the core concepts of self-improvement that one can derive from witchcraft, even without a spell! I’m glad your feeling better at work.
This is amazing and very timely for me. One of the reasons I haven’t been active on this forum in a while is because I recently took a new job that I can definitely do but is still intimidating. This is so helpful for me and will help me face down my fear and anxiety. Thank you so much for sharing!
@colin, thank you and I agree. We invest ourselves fully into witchcraft, doing the work and having the dedication, we can and should derive the benefits of those efforts in our day to day lives. I appreciate your comment. Have a wonderful day
@Harmony, I’m so glad that my post on this topic was helpful to you. I believe that we should lift one another up here as much as we can and sometimes that means sharing what is holding us back and what we’ve done to try to overcome fears, anxiety, or any other negative type energy. To know this resonated with you means so much to me because I know I’ve helped a fellow sister in our coven. I hope you can feel better going into your work day today and going forward.
Have a wonderful day of calm and strength!
Because we’re worth it!
I love it! 
Wow- the power of a witch really is holistic, isn’t it? It doesn’t exist only during spellwork or just while doing “witchy things”, it is something that can be channeled and embraced all the time to enhance and improve our lives.
I’m glad your feeling better at work.