These Times Are Made for Misfits
#1. How to Be a Misfit
Read the article in Spanish here.
Happy New Year!
This phrase is repeated at midnight on December 31 worldwide in all languages. However, it could be empty of content, given how things are in the world now. That is why we must give it meaning with our intention for this coming year.
The intention I am referring to is more than a list of resolutions for the new year. To have a focused intention, we need the following:
- to have a clear purpose
- to do the things that fulfill that purpose,
- to master the methods and tools that will make the things you do make a systemic impact.
According to Simon Sinek, to have a clear purpose is “WHY,” to do the things that fulfill that purpose is “WHAT,” and to master the methods and tools that will make the things you do make a systemic impact is “HOW.”
My intention is to do everything in my power to improve the world by helping others master the methods and tools that will bring their purpose to life.
You probably know your WHY — the purpose of your being on this planet. In these articles, I am giving you WHAT you need to know to realize your purpose in life at your own pace. Next February, I will give you the HOW — the methods and tools you need to master to make your WHY shine.
It will be an Intensive Experiential Bootcamp, where you will join a selected group of change makers in awakening and setting free the misfit that lives inside everyone one of you so that you make a difference in the world here and now.
Let’s first see what setting free the misfit means. I had a foggy idea of what I wanted to do this year until I read a meditation written by the minister and religious leader Jen Bailey, which resonated deeply with me and cleared the fog away, inspiring me to write this series of articles as stepping stones for turning things around in 2023.
These times are made for misfits. When you are at the center of a circle, it is impossible to see what is at the perimeter — if you are even aware that there is a perimeter. As misfits who were pushed to the edges and in-between places, we are able to see what is on the horizon and collectively discern what is needed to meet the challenges ahead. We are called to be the gardeners who will compost and tend to the soil upon which future generations will sow seeds that will one day blossom. . . . Jen Bailey. Richard Rohr’s Daily Meditation. Dec. 28, 2022.
The outline of the articles will be the acronym built by the words composing Happy New Year; the first letter is the H.
How to be a Misfit
The key is in the verb TO BE. Being a misfit is very different from acting like one, although you must perform to be one. Curiously enough, to be a misfit, you must first know who you are, what you stand for, and where you fit in the world as it is. As Steve Jobs once said, if you feel like a round peg in a square hole, you are a misfit, not realizing its potential.
So, what are you going to do about it? If you are the round peg, you need to go out of the square hole and look for one where you fit in; if you don’t find it, make one that fits you. Your first task is to let that misfit inside you come out, right here, right now.
Every misfit has an intention; to connect with its force and realize your potential, you need a well-attuned spiritual compass. What does it mean? You have a working geographical compass when tuned to the North Pole. You calibrate your spiritual compass by aligning your attention with your intention.
In these disruptive times, getting distracted and having your attention all over the place or at the center of the circle Jen Bailey mentioned before, is easy. Therefore, to align your attention with your intention, you need to go to the edges to see the view from there and to feel what it is like to be in that place. If you don’t do it voluntarily, the times and circumstances we live in at the current moment might push you to the edges and in-between places. From there, your spiritual compass will guide you to tend to the soil upon which future generations will sow seeds that will one day blossom.
The attention you give to your intention will determine the quality of the compost you put on the social field. Others are also putting all sorts of stuff on the social field, polluting it. Therefore, it is valid that you ask yourself these questions: what would be the compounded quality of the soil where the future generations will sow their seeds? What kind of fruits will they reap? What will be my role in bettering the quality of the soil?
When abused, the environment reacts with floods, violent storms, and other manifestations. The social field, too, has a way of expressing itself when things get to extremes. As an illustration, the social media business model considers every person´s private information as their property, which they sell to the highest bidder, independently that the buyer uses it to sell tomatoes or to influence an election.
Many of those buyers are corrupt politicians and authoritarian leaders who manipulate information and news to instigate widespread polarization and distrust within their countries, which is one of the causes of the decline of democracy and the rise of authoritarianism. The vicious feedback loop closes with more oppression of the civil population, which has caused unprecedented mass migrations due to crises and wars.
Authoritarian leaders also see their neighboring countries as prizes to be conquered violently, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine shows. In particular, the adverse effects of a war of a scale not seen since WWII reverberate worldwide and are impossible to calculate in human and material cost.
So, how do we balance the equation? The task ahead is unsurmountable for any human being, given the state of world affairs. Where are the Ghandis, the Mandelas, and the MLKs?
“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes … the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo. … You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things. … They push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius because the people who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world are the ones who do.” Steve Jobs. “Here is to the crazy ones” Apple commercial.
Where are the crazy ones, the misfits, the round pegs on square holes? Here they are! Look at yourself in the mirror. I did it, too, and I am writing these articles as a result. I am conscious that I do not have the moral stature and courage of those icons of humanity, but we can look deep inside ourselves and look for the crazy one, the misfit, the troublemaker inside, find it, and show it to the world.
Why?
Because I am damm sure I don´t like this state of affairs, and I bet neither do you. People like you and me are the silent but powerful majority, but we only need to be conscious of that to be invincible.
To illustrate my point, there is no better example than the end-of-the-year word exchange on Twitter between Andrew Tate and Greta Thunberg. Two world views collided before millions of people on Twitter.
As if it were a boxing match, in one corner, Tate, a millionaire former kickboxing champion, represents the archetype of the leader capable of every wrongdoing to satisfy his thirst for power and riches. He had been recently let back on Twitter by Elon Musk.
On the other end of the spectrum of consciousness is Greta Thunberg, a 19 years old environment activist known globally since she was a 15 years old girl sitting every Friday on the stairs of the Swedish parliament holding a sign that read, School Strike for Climate, which was the spark that lighted a worldwide nvironmental movement called Fridays for Future. She is the archetype of environmental activism and embodies the voice of future generations, especially the weak and marginalized by society, demanding a societal change now. Her profile on Twitter reads, “Autistic climate justice activist. Born at 375 ppm.”
I was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, OCD, and selective mutism. That means I only speak when I think it’s necessary. Now is one of those moments.— Greta Thunberg, Stockholm. November 2018
You could not pick a more extreme dichotomic showdown to end the disruptive year 2022. The scene was served when Tate tagged Greta on a tweet, bragging about his multimillion-dollar collection of gas-guzzlers luxury cars and asking her mail to send their detailed specs to her. Greta returned the tweet with an epic answer:
“yes, enlighten me. email me at smalldickenergy@getalife.com.”
Upon receiving Greta´s answer, Tate posted a video saying very nasty stuff to Greta while eating a pizza. She did not answer, but the Bulgarian police, looking for Tate and his brother under accusations of rape and human trafficking, tracked his location by the pizza brand printed in the box and arrested him. After the arrest, Greta wrote:
“This is what happens when you don’t recycle your pizza boxes.”
The former kickboxing champion got knocked out by a 19 years old discapacitated girl, who had a secret weapon — her spiritual compass. Greta’s response has had 3.1 million likes so far — more than three million punches on the faces of every authoritarian, despotic Tate who is wreaking havoc today in society, business, and our communities. One is mine — end of the story.
If you want to be a misfit who gets the upper hand in life, you must have a spiritual compass, and from the edges of the system, you will be able to see what is on the horizon and collectively discern what is needed to meet the challenges ahead.
I borrow Apple´s motto and affirm:
Think different, act different, and make a difference!
Next article:
A for Action Confidence
Next February, I will give you the HOW — the methods and tools you need to master to make your WHY shine.
It will be an Intensive Experiential Bootcamp, where you will join a selected group of change makers in awakening and setting free the misfit that lives inside everyone one of you so that you make a difference in the world here and now.
If you are interested in starting 2023 acting confidently on the issues that matter most, we will find the way together. So, don’t hesitate to contact me by commenting below, messaging me at +58(414)328-7997, writing at hborgesg@gmail.com, or subscribing to my articles.
