An Exciting Announcement + A Story About Anxiety
Recently, I’ve been doing a lot of things for the first time. I made a weekly newsletter on Substack. I created a page on Ko-Fi to give my readers the option of supporting my content through donations. I updated my website with a brand new tab about Oh, Write.
Although these projects are exciting, the process has been frustrating. I was met with a wall of anxiety in each project’s beginning stages. I decided to work through my anxiety instead of letting it paralyze me.
I recently wrote about my anxiety towards starting new things in my first NaNoWriMo log and a piece I wrote for the Medium publication Be Unique: “How Being a Gifted Child Destroyed My Mental Health”. I have a long history of jumping ship when things get rough.
Calling Myself Out
2020 has been the first year I recognized this personal habit. I chose to accept it, work with it, and stop beating myself up about it. Sometimes, you’ve just got to call yourself out and admit how toxic you’ve been.
But, I ain’t gonna lie to y’all. Saying you’re going to work through things more positively and actually doing it are two different things.
These projects (newsletter, Ko-Fi, website) are important to me. So, in true Nia fashion, I’ve been overthinking, over researching, and overediting. With all these inner editors scurrying around my brain, it took me a while to get things done. But — I did it.
The newsletter, Ko-Fi page, and website aren’t exactly what I want them to be. The important part is that they exist. They’re no longer just ideas. I have all the time in the world to tweak them into exactly what I want them to be. But, I’m proud of myself for slapping my inner editor in the face and creating something.
The Lesson Learned
Don’t let your perfectionism get in the way of achieving your goals. Perfectionism is the sole cause of so many unfinished books, business plans, and creative projects. If you feel anxiety coming on, act anyway. The other side of fear feels amazing — you’ve just got to get there.
Here’s a quick introduction to what I’ve been working on:
On Oh, Write’s weekly Substack newsletter *this is different than oh, a newsletter* , I’m sharing creative inspiration from my favorite creators of color throughout the internet.
Want to further support the publication and newsletter? Consider buying me a coffee!
When’s the last time you learned something new? I’d love to see what y’all have been learning about.
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Nia Simone McLeod is a writer, content creator, and pop culture enthusiast from Richmond, Virginia. Follow her on Twitter, Tumblr, or Instagram for more dope digital content.
