Hmmmm, I guess I always have been a Square Peg. Even as a young child I didn't quite fit into the norms of most people's understanding. For a start, I was adopted at birth, and always knew of that.

I lost my father to cancer at a very early age also - so on entering school, was always one of the few children there from a single parent family - and one run by a 50-60 year old woman at that. Once my mother hit her 60s health problems started occuring so at the age of 11 or 12 I took on the head of household responsibilities.

I went through school as the top of the class girl in every year. I was artistic, creative, mathematic, and top in sciences and english as well.

Despite the fact that school mates constantly voted me in as a leader, I was incredibly shy with it, and remain so to this day. Which is a stunning example of the controversy within my own life (so far) and my personality. My leadership skills have meant that I've achieved some incredible career objectives...

Yet, at home, I'm often reluctant to open the front door to a stranger knocking on it. My husband has to deal with this inner shyness and reluctance of mine daily.

I am a fretful person, a worrier. This comes from my overall sense of responsibility which I took upon myself from the age of five (possibly due to my father's death), and from my strong analytical abilities. I analyse things to such an extent that it can leave me sleepless at night.

I have never made friends quickly, or retained them very well. My shyness has always gotten in the way, and then when some people have learnt of my own abilities, sometimes I think I've lost friends to some jealousies. The few friends I do have are long running school or work friends made some time ago. They are oblivious to my current career successes or even my own crafting passions. We have a simple past in common.

When I look back now on my past, I realise how different it has been from many peoples. I've often been rejected or let down by many people, including my own family, and have always sought acceptance but rarely found it. I still suffer from that to this day, but at least now realise that I am not alone in this Square-Peggedness feeling.

Why am I a Square-Peg? Because I am good at whatever I want to do, I'm a strong woman, opinionated and driven, and sometimes society doesn't know how to act around me. But others like me seem to recognise it, and appreciate and support it. Even celebrate it. I'm glad I've now got a label for it. Square-Peggedness, although I still have this hankering for acceptance, is basically something now for me to appreciate and celebrate in my own life. But goodness is it a struggle sometimes, to remember this...

Even though Michelle talks about the struggle to remember to appreciate herself, you can HEAR her Square-Peg pride, can’t you? Very beautiful!

Actually, I'm sometimes still struggling with why I would want to maintain this, to be honest. It would make life so much easier if I was a round-peg. Heck, I'd have friends and not feel quite so lonely. But anyway... Read more...

---

Square-Peg-Stacks

This book practically jumped off a bookstore shelf at me. I JUST got it and am still processing all the ideas, but I'm so excited about it that I had to share this book with you.

Refuse to Choose! is, quoting the subtitle: A Revolutionary Program For Doing Everything That You Love. It's an encouraging message to Scanners - those of us who are, in Sher's words: "...genetically wired to be interested in many things..."

It's for those of us who often struggle with not finishing things, who wonder how do I choose only one big passion, what if I choose the wrong dream to follow, how do I combine all my loves to make a living?

I have a feeling that many Square-Peg-People are Scanners. To quote Sher, "Scanners are typically creative and not ordinarily tied to rigid thinking. They're the quintessential 'out of the box' people..."

That sounds like Square-Peg folk, doesn't it?

Barbara Sher first talked about Scanners in her book I Could Do Anything If Only I Knew What It Was... She describes them as the opposite of specialists. They are interested in EVERYTHING, or so it seems (she has exercises in the book that help you find your true interests).

Sher names Aristotle, Leonardo da Vinci, Goethe, and Ben Franklin as Scanners. Good company! She tells us why they were honored for their many interests, but in today's world the Scanner is often considered lazy or undisciplined.

Sher champions Scanners. She reminds us of our gifts - what it is that's so wonderful about being a Scanner. She also counters the negativism we often hear about pursuing multiple interests.

In one paradigm-shifting sentence Barbara Sher notes that: "If Scanners didn't think they should limit themselves to one field, 90 percent of their problems would cease to exist!"

As usual, Barbara Sher's book is filled with stories. You'll read about how Sher (a self-identified Scanner) cried with joy while looking over a college course description catalog - with the thrill of all there was to learn.

A few chapter titles will give you an idea of some of the other stories in the book: Too Busy to Do What I Love, I Won't Do Anything If I Can't Do Everything, Commitment Phobia,I Never Finish Anything... Read more...

---

Looking Ahead

Next month (which is just around the corner) our featured interview is with decorative artist, Nancy Vittoria Bello. You can read a bit about her now at her beautiful site

Happy Spring - don't forget to check the Square-Peg-People.com site to see what we're up to!

See you next month!