Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)
The Wakefield Doctrine is a perspective on people, (and how they behave); the world around us, (and how we experience it) and of our ownselfs, (how we relate ourselves to the world around us).
Rather than claim to have developed categories of behaviors, traits and inclinations into which all people fit, the Wakefield Doctrine takes a different approach to the business of personality types.
The Wakefield Doctrine proposes that when we, all of us, are born, there are three realities by which the world is manifested: the life of the Outsider, the reality of the Predator and the world of the Herd Member. For reasons not yet understood, we, all of us, ‘step into one’ (and only one) of these three realities and grow and develop, mature and learn, in order to thrive and prosper. Our behavior, (public and private), our social styles and strategies, (professional and personal), our coping mechanisms (how we get what we want and survive what we do not desire) are a reflection of the character of the world, as we experience it.
(Those italics? Totally intended to emphasize the fact that, according to the Doctrine, we experience the world, reality and everything else, on a personal, but very real level.)
So, you’re young. Real young. You look around and you realize the world, (and the people and the things) are that of the world of the:
- Outsider. You’re included in the activities and the interactions of the people around you. They look at you and say almost the same things that they say to each other. But you sense there is more to the conversation than you hear. You notice there’s a certain ease among them that you do not feel. They don’t seem to be wondering about things. You decide that you must have lost the instruction manual and start looking for it. You ask the others about it, but they look at you in a way that feels like you’re different. You stop asking. You keep searching. You’re on your way to developing the personality type we refer to as (a) clark.
- Predator. Holy shit! Things happen fast! The surprises are constant and you aren’t nearly as thrown by them as the people around you. You must be good at this. Things happen so fast that there’s no time to figure it out. Run away or attack seems to work. The others notice you. They point out how much energy you have, clearly they are impressed. Besides, you wake up and there’s alway something to do, to fight, to love, to run away from, whats the point of worrying about tomorrow. Besides, you already know about tomorrow, there’ll be someone doing something that you like or don’t like and can do something about …or to. You’re on your way to refining your personality as a scott
- Herd Member. Time. There is endless time because you’re not worried about it. Everyone around you confirms that there is time. Everyone will let you learn to do the things they do, as long as you don’t try to rush them. You wake up from dreams of doing something better than anyone, without ever having to change. The world is good and your life is complete. There are those who are in a hurry and lack the understanding of there being enough time and they make you laugh. Sometimes. There are those you know who worry about time, about not having enough time and they hide. Sometimes. They make you glad you know what you know, (that) the world is a knowable, learnable place and life is good as you practice being a roger.
Those are the three personality types of the Wakefield Doctrine. They reflect the character of the reality the individual experiences. Know the nature of the world the other person is experiencing and not only will you know more about them than you have any right to know, you will know how they will act in the future.
Note: We’re all born with those three realities? And we are what we are because we grew up in one of them? The ‘other two’ are alway there. We live in only one of the three characteristic worlds, however, we never lose the potential to survive the other two. This doesn’t mean we can instantly assume the traits and style of the other two personality types. Think about it. Our premise is that a child grows up and develops the style appropriate to one of the three worldviews. As in, ‘practice for a lifetime’. But you can, especially under duress, exhibit traits and instincts of the other two. We call these ‘secondary and tertiary aspects’ and that’s for another post.
Learn about the characteristics of the world of the Outsiders, the reality of the Predator and the life of the Herd Member; go out, watch and observe those around you. You will see people acting as if they’re running across the savannah about to overcome their prey, you’ll spot the person who is so comfortable and self-assured that you wonder why they can’t stop talking about themselves and, if you’ve studied hard and are vigilant, you’ll see the person who wasn’t there a moment ago. Just for a second and then the conversation seems to shift and they’re nowhere to be found.
And that’s just the start of the fun.
the ‘everyday fun’? A moment ago, while I was getting Coffee#2, Phyllis said, “I have very vivid dreams.” In my best Jules Winfield, I said, ‘Example.’ Phyllis paused in her breakfast preparation and said, “Well, I was in a dorm room in a school in Boston. The other girls in the room were there already and there was nowhere to put my stuff, their’s being already on the beds and the bureaus. We had to go to church in part because there was food there.’ I said nothing but felt the pull of those elements: people, communal living space, and the stress of unpacking and said, “In my dreams, its about having to take a final exam and realizing that I had, for one reason or another, not gone to any of the classes.” We both enjoyed the reflection. Before leaving the kitchen, I added, “scotts? Their legs kick in their sleep.” We both laughed and came back here and decided to tell the story as best I could.
New Readers: Phyllis is a roger (with strong secondary clarklike aspect). Me, I’m a clark.
