🌼 My Nana's Rebellion: The Art of Being Unapologetically You [Start Fresh Mini]
Welcome to this Start Fresh mini from the Om WOW Podcast! Let’s reset our mindset and start the week with clarity and intention.
Listen to the short episode:
Episode 4: Transcript
This is going to be a controversial topic, but I'm doing it anyway. My Nana lived to be 83 years old. Her doctor would always say that she was healthy as a horse except for the rheumatoid arthritis. Now, for years, I begged her to quit smoking. She was a two to three pack a day smoker, most of her adult life.
She'd always argue with me that it was her only indulgence. Her physical activities had been limited due to her crippled body, and even some of the handicrafts that she enjoyed, like crocheting, became impossible to do with her hands as she got older. She argued that nobody knew cigarettes were dangerous when she started smoking them, and that now she was irreversibly addicted.
Her attitude about it was basically to heck with you, I'm gonna do what makes me happy. I am pretty sure she would've quit if her health had been affected. But amazingly, the cigarettes never seemed to hurt her body. Toward the end of her life. She did eventually taper down the cigarettes and ultimately she had to quit as hospital stays and nursing homes became part of her life.
Now I wanna be clear here, although I don't condone smoking, I do condone the underlying belief of, I don't care what you think I'm gonna do, what makes me happy! Doing what makes you happy, regardless of what others want you to do, what a concept.
She was free. She stood in her own personality and owned it. She didn't care what you thought of her hair, her clothes, her food, or her boisterous opinions. She never pretended to be something or someone she wasn't, and she didn't change her personality or actions to conform to anyone else's standards.
This is a hard one for me. I think we all instinctively want to fit in. We want other people to like us to think we're cool and we're hesitant to do anything that's outside of what's considered normal. And it's kind of funny to me that some people who are desperately trying on purpose to “be different” and “stand out” from society's norms are all kind of doing the same things as each other.
Like for example, dying their hair pink or putting holes in their ears, piercing various parts of their faces, getting tattoos and wearing black. These people aren't really being original and expressing themselves. They're actually just following the norms of a smaller segment of society, and there's nothing original about that.
Now, don't get me wrong, if you truly want those things and they feel like you, great, go for it. But do it for you not to fit into a character type or a persona. And I am gonna add a disclaimer here, which should be obvious, but just to clarify, I am not saying you should go off and do anything that makes you happy.
Don't do something illegal, immoral, or life-threatening. Duh.
Here are my questions for you, as you start this week:
What are you not doing that you'd really like to be doing?
And what are some things that you are doing just to fit in?
Enjoy the week ahead and I encourage you to move through your day with intention.
If this mini gave you a mindset boost, pass it on! Comment below & let me know— your energy makes a difference.
Meet Our Host: Jennifer Robin O’Keefe
Jennifer Robin is always searching for the next thing that might help: the book, the practice, the reframe you didn't know existed but turns out to be exactly what you needed.
Through conversations with experts, authors, and everyday humans, along with personal reflection, Jennifer focuses on bridging the gap between "woo" and practical, accessible self-support. Her work is rooted in the belief that wellness is not about fixing yourself, but about remembering your worth and finding what genuinely works for you.
She has spent decades exploring personal growth, energy healing, and mind-body wellness. She's trained in EFT Tapping and coaching, tools she often references in her conversations. She's not positioning herself as an expert who has it all figured out. She approaches her work with humility, curiosity, and deep respect for individual experience.
Jennifer is a lifelong learner who cherishes books and notebooks. She loves diving into research and sharing what she learns in a way that feels relatable, compassionate, and pressure-free. These conversations are an invitation: to ask your own questions, gather perspectives that resonate, and build a life that actually feels good to you.