Asteya is the third Yama and it means non-stealing.
How can you practice that in your writing?
1.Obviously, as a creative, don’t plagiarize. With AI taking off, this is something to stay extremely mindful of. With social media, give credit to the original post.
2. Remember there is enough success to go around. I try not to be stingy with my praise and support. Don’t steal joy from another creative with an unnecessarily nasty review of their work.
3. The desire to steal can come from believing we are not enough. I need to remind myself often that I do enough, have enough and that I AM enough.
4. Don’t steal time from your creativity. I struggle with this one, often letting endless scrolling or Netflix binge-watching use up much of my time and bandwidth. I find if I write first thing in the morning, that helps. It sets the tone for the day, I’ve done the thing most important to me and I can go on with my day.
5. Don’t let shame steal your creative joy. Shame is insidious and it shows up in so many ways from asking who do I think I am to questioning our talent to thinking it’s too late. None of that is true. Shame is a story we inherited from our culture (thank you to Amie McNee and the Inspired Collective for a brilliant Master Class on Creative Shame!) Be compassionate with yourself, with your creativity. Be your own biggest supporter. Have your own back. One way I do this is by writing letters to myself from my inner wisdom/guidance. Liz Gilbert writes herself letters from Love. It works. Try it.
6. Be generous. Don't hoard your work, share it. Let it be seen, heard, and read. Let yourself be seen, heard, and read.
7. Release comparison. Don't compare your work, your timeline, your social media followers/engagement or anything else to anyone else. As Theodore Roosevelt said, "Comparison is the thief of joy."
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