January brings out two types of people.

There are the women who proudly wave the “New Year New Me” flag.
I mean proud-ly.

They’ll hit you with the facebook status at 12:01am like:  “If you’re reading this in 2018, congrats! You’re still in my life.”

They’ll turn the “unfriend” button into social scissors and samurai swords and get to cuttin’ like nobody’s business.

Then there are the women who refuse to let one time of year define the changes they’ll make for themselves and their lives.

And between December 26th and January 1st they’ll remind you of this fact all the time.

You know them because they’ve been on instagram with all the “New Year New Me” memes and captions filled with eye roll emojis.

They’re likely offending the “New Year New Me” women who are probably unfriending them as I type this post.

While I don’t think you need a specific time of year to do the things necessary to become the best version of yourself, the turn of a new year brings a freshness and a hope that makes me feel a bit bolder and more empowered to try something I never have.

Whichever camp you fall into around this time of year, this is as good a time as any to remember one simple truth that is often difficult to execute:

Completion is always better than perfection.

Now is the time to start the business, write the blog, or apply for the job.

If God gave you the vision, He will make the space for you. 

Girluh, someone is waiting for the gift that you have to share.

You formatting your life away (I am embarrassed at how guilty I am of this) or waiting for the perfect picture, or the logo of your dreams isn’t helping anyone.

This is a lesson I learned recently when launching Black Girl Musings. I had written my first post How Hiding My Breakdown Made Others Ashamed and it was so heavy on my heart to share it.

But…
I hadn’t hired a photographer to take my cute blogger pictures.
I didn’t have my social media accounts up and running.
I didn’t have a million followers.
I didn’t have a fancy website (Hey, Chris at WordPress! You my dawg for life!) and had no clue what I was doing.

But I had something to say.

And I realized I didn’t need any of those things in order to say it.

So a week after the idea of Black Girl Musings first came to me–Good lookin’ out God–the blog launched.

And over 300 people read that first post.

And then came the texts, fb messages, and emails.
People who I knew and never thought would need my post and total strangers reaching out to say thank you.
People who told me they hadn’t seen their therapist in a year but were going back because of my post.

My boss!
And her boss!
And so many others could relate to this message.

And they didn’t need me to have a bomb photo or a beat face in order to appreciate it.

And guess what?

You don’t need any of that stuff either.

The pictures will come.
The outfit inspo will come.
The social media followers will come.
And it will be so fun when it does.

But it’s not the priority.
People need you now, sis.

Your gifts are too big and your message, business, or idea is too relevant to wait for the  perfect picture for the ‘gram or the perfect tweet. You need to expose your greatness to the world now.

I know you (even if I don’t).
I know you are not the kind of woman (or man) who would sacrifice quality for execution.
And I’m not asking you to.

There is certainly power in preparation.
Having a plan matters (even if it shifts along the way).

But no one has ever gone down in history for only planning.

2018 is the year we are unapologetic about loving ourselves and being so proud of our God given gifts and ideas that we show the world all we have to offer.

Because we have so much to offer.

Someone’s life will change because you raise your voice, write your truth, or share an experience.

I’m rooting for you.

There’s magic in our musings,
Nicole