🌼 Why Be Afraid to Mess Up a $7 Notebook?
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 #14: Transcript
 Hello friends. Guess what? I got a new notebook that I cracked open today to write this episode. I know, I know. Super exciting. Right? But here's what you need to understand. It's like a $7 blank composition pad. Kind of like the ones some of us used in school back when kids had to hand write their essays.
Same black and white, nostalgic cover, just no lines. My creativity works better without the lines for some reason. During my original EFT training, our instructor had suggested that we avoid line paper, but now I can't remember the details of why. Something about the brain or crossing energy maybe.
Anyway, I'm a prolific note taker and I write and research a lot. So I've primarily used a fancy, expensive electronic writing tablet that mimics paper for seven years or so because I write a lot.
And it was a convenient way to do it, but I upgraded my device about a year ago, and the new one is just not working for me. It takes a while to boot up, and I've often forgotten what I wanted to capture by the time it was ready. So I've been losing ideas. And it has literally crashed four times in the past six months, while I was in the middle of deep writing or journaling, and I lost everything I was working on. The last time it froze, it erased three days of journal entries just like that gone. I still have it for now until I get all my files off it, but I don't trust it for writing anymore. Hence, the new old school non-fancy notebook.
What's funny to me is with the electronic notebook, I grab it throughout the day and just jot things down even quick to do items and phone messages. But this paper notebook sat on my desk for a few days untouched, because I didn't want to "ruin" it with temporary notes to myself that would end up being crossed out.
Doesn't that seem silly? Electronically, I could erase something, move words around, or delete or add pages, but with a real old school notebook, it feels more tangible, more permanent. Like I need to be mindful to only use it for important stuff, not for temporary stuff that will be scribbled out. I wonder why that is.
It was under $10, so I can just get another one once I fill it up. But cost isn't the issue I don't think. Maybe it feels wasteful? Like if I scribble down some tasks for the day and then rip up the page and throw it away, I'm being wasteful? Could be. I spent a lot of time with my grandmother as a child, and she taught me either intentionally or unintentionally that it's a sin to be wasteful-- it's irresponsible.
But I have a feeling my digital notebook's gonna cause more waste to dispose of when its life is done. It won't be trashed. It'll be sold to somebody who wants a deal and is okay with the slow speed and occasional freezing up. Then probably three to five years from now, it will hit the landfill.
I've brought up the importance of journaling a lot on this podcast because I know it's an incredible tool and something that's easily accessible for most people. When you think through your thoughts and writing, sometimes your subconscious will reveal helpful nuggets like possible core beliefs that no longer serve you.
If I wait for the perfect time to write and compose it perfectly in my head before writing it down, I'd just be carrying around a blank notebook.
And a huge part of my life involves writing, reading, and research, and I write pretty huge and messy. So I feel like Nana would be telling me to slow down, write smaller, write neater so I waste less paper. But I'm ready to wrestle with the core belief that being wasteful is a sin. Because now that I see it, I can understand why every time I start a new notebook, it's hard and it feels like I should only put important stuff in a notebook too, which is part of another core belief peeking around the corner of my mind.
This belief: you have to be perfect or strive to be perfect. Or flip it around, and it would be, you're not good enough unless you're perfect. Statistically, I know likely half of you listening, if not more, have similar core beliefs rolling around your mind, going unchecked.
You may not even realize they're there! But they pull invisible puppet strings and influence how you move through this world. What you think, what you say, and what you do. See, this little $7 notebook is pretty valuable, to me anyway. I've decided it's not wasteful to use this real paper. Yes, I love the trees. Yes, I buy sustainable eco-friendly items where I can, but I'm done feeling guilty about potentially wasting pages in this notebook.
This is already page five. So what do you do when you're working on self-care and you discover a core belief? Number one, celebrate. You've unlocked part of the mystery of what makes you tick. Number two, write it down preferably by hand in your journal. Number three, start challenging a core belief and working with it.
During an EFT tapping session, I'd ask you when you first remember feeling that feeling or thinking that thought. For me, I'm pretty sure my wasteful thoughts came from spending time at Nana's house As a young kid, I remember pulling apart two ply paper towels for her, like the entire roll.
So she felt like she had twice as much. Kind of silly, huh? And she'd reuse paper plates, plastic bags, paper, grocery bags. Most of you are probably too young to realize our groceries used to be packed in sturdy brown paper bags that people would reuse. Book covers for school, anyone?
So how do you challenge a core belief that no longer serves you? You look it dead in the face when it pops up and you ask yourself if it's really true and applicable to the situation you're in right now, just observing is extremely helpful. It won't go away overnight. It could be months or even years depending on how strongly rooted the core belief is. But you have the power to get rid of core beliefs that no longer serve you. You don't have to live with them!
Your Challenge This Week
This week, my challenge for you is to really pause and think about why you're acting or thinking in a way that puzzles you. Like me hesitating to use a simple notebook. Bonus points for you if you journal about it. Have a fabulous week, friends!
Have a fantastic week, and we'll see you next time. 
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 serves as a relatable, down-to-earth, REAL Wellness & Success Coach. She’s not a fancy, perfect makeup, airbrushed kind of woman. She’s been told many times, in a variety of environments, that she’s easy to talk to, and makes others feel welcome and comfortable. Her mission in life is both simple and profound: to make others feel worthy.
Professionally, Jennifer holds several wellness certifications including Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) Tapping, Thought Field Therapy (TFT) Tapping, Reiki, and more. She continuously expands her knowledge in the fields of Qi Gong, Xien Gong, Vibration/Energy Wellness and Natural Health. She also studied extensively with Jack Canfield, and serves as a Certified Canfield Trainer, authorized to teach "The Success Principles."
She’s an active reader and researcher who loves to learn, and one of her biggest joys is teaching and sharing what she’s discovered with others.
