A Fly In My House

There's a fly in my house. It has been here for two days. It's smaller and looks different than the house flies I've seen all winter. And it's bigger than a fruit fly, so I know it didn't come from the bananas in the kitchen. I'm excited. It's the first sign of spring! This fly may be a misfit, but I'm pretty attracted to the misfits of this world and thrilled to have it in my life.

So it was a short leap from this misfit, the fly, to this Top Ten List. Hey, no excuses for the strange wanderings of my mind. That's the point.

The Top Ten Ways to Enjoy Being a Misfit:

1. What causes you to be labeled a misfit is the very thing that makes you an individualist. Explore it! 2. Your “misfit-ness” is often your strength. Hone it!
3. If being a misfit looks like fun, others will follow you. Flaunt it!
4. Every circumstance in which you find yourself unsuitable is an opportunity to learn something new. Uncover it!
5. When you stand out, you have a better chance of being heard. Say it!
6. People will talk about you. Use it!
7. Expanding on that which makes you different will elevate you to one of a kind. Enjoy it!
8. Misfits often look at things from slightly different angles. Notice it!
9. Misfits tend to question accepted views and to consider contradictory ones. Challenge it!
10. Just like the fly in my house, if you're the only one out there, the lanes are wide open! Floor it!

First, ask yourself “Am I a misfit in any way?” And if so, don't concern yourself with hiding or compensating for it. But instead, ask yourself, “How can I expand that to other areas of my life?” Because today's misfit is tomorrow's maverick.

“Man is physically as well as metaphysically a thing of shreds and patches, borrowed unequally from good and bad ancestors, and a misfit from the start” ~~Ralph Waldo Emerson