Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clark, scotts and rogers)

Hey! Finnallly!

We just had a person request insight into this little personality theory, vis á vis ‘How the Doctrine might be of use in a situation involving a clark and a scott.

New Readers? Not only have we not changed the names, we haven’t actually used any names. Two reasons: ‘We’re a clark“. (ProTip: while clarks are sought out for being good listeners, we are totally un-inclined to make use of the social currency manifest in the personal information such conversations so often convey. Ask any roger. ’nuff said.)

In any event, the question is how does a clark best handle a scott in a situation where they, (the scott), need to be directed down a different path than the one they are on. Very interesting question. In fact, (hold on, we’re gonna create a draft post on just this topic for later publication),…. there done!)

Thing of it is, the Wakefield Doctrine is for you, not them.  Yet, we maintain that with the Doctrine as an additional perspective on the world around us and the people who make it up, one can know more about the other person than they know about themselves. Both are true. And reconciling the seeming conflict between the attitude suggested is how the Wakefield Doctrine manifests as one of the more fun and useful tools for self-improving our selfs.

RePrint (from friend of the Doctrine Christine!)

Guest Post Thursday’s Guest Post! the Wakefield Doctrine (‘clarks think, scotts act and rogers feel‘)

June 5, 2014

Welcome to the Wakefield Doctrine (the theory of clarks, scotts and rogers)

Christine is our Guest Writer today. Everything that I know, like, respect and appreciate about her is inherent, implied and obvious in the following ‘how-we-met’ story.

back in Feb 2013, I came across a blog titled, Considerings. A good writer, (apparently) new to the ‘sphere and, despite being a clark, very open about the turmoil in her life. I began to write comments on her Posts, in the hope that something from the Doctrine perspective might prove to be useful/helpful. At this time, there were maybe 4 Comments for any given Post,  (and) made something of an initial connection. Then, totally out of the blue, I received  a Comment at the Doctrine, that read,

“I have been seeing your comments on Considerer’s posts, and was a bit curious as to what the clark/roger/scotts you mention means. Now that I’m here, I thought I had it figured out. I think. I do believe I’m a scott. But then I read this post, and got confused all over again. I’ll keep trying. :)”

my immediate reaction was to smile and think, ‘damn! Lizzi has a scottian friend! instinctively, unhesitatingly protective!’

Since that time, I’ve come to know Christine better, (from her blog and as a co-host at the TToT), and, whenever a New Reader says something like, ‘yeah, but don’t you have to ask the other person if they agree with the worldview thing?  how can I know about a person when I’ve just met them?… I smile.

…Christine?

On May 5, I did a dumb thing.  I played in a soccer game with a bunch of 7^th and 8^th graders.  That in itself isn’t dumb, but playing like it was the final game of the World Cup most certainly was.  Instead of letting the 8^th grader just take the ball and try to shoot, I decided he wasn’t going to get a point on my watch and kicked it into high gear.  I beat him to the ball, like I knew I could, but when my foot planted, my body kept going.  I went down.  Think “agony of defeat” guy, without the skies, snow, and downhill parts but with the twisting, falling, crashing, and wailing.

To say I hurt my knee is an understatement.  The physical therapist actually said, “I must be honest, I stopped reading the list of things wrong with your knee halfway through.  You are messed up!”  Surgery is planned.

For the first week after the “major trauma” to my knee, I was unable to do much of anything.  I alternated between excruciating pain and loopiness from the pain medicine and just sat doing nothing all day long.  This is not a good thing for a person of my worldview.  According to the Wakefield Doctrine, I am a scott.  Clark has said many times that he was excited to have some scotts in the group of readers, so you clarks and rogers can get a better understanding of us.  Well, the day has come for him to really get inside my head to see how we operate.

A healthy scott on a school morning…

Get up before anyone else, cut up fruit, prepare breakfast, make sure kindergartener’s backpack has everything in it, fill out forms, write lunch checks, put kindergartener’s clothes out, make sure everyone brushes teeth, remind high schooler to take his phone, go over afternoon schedule with all, kisses and well wishes for the day as they all walk out the door.

An injured scott trapped in bed on a school morning…

Sit up in bed, listen intently to everyone downstairs, grumble that no one is eating anything but cereal, silently scream in her head “For the love of all that is holy, how hard is it to get a piece of fruit or hard boiled egg out of the fridge”, catch a glimpse of a child who dressed in uniform pants he pulled out of his gym bag for the 4^th day in a row and holler for him to find a new pair, grumble when he pretends not to hear, take note of how many kids make it to their bathroom to brush teeth, grumble when only 3 out of 5 do, pray that husband has given the kindergartener the kindergartener’s clothes to wear and not his older brother’s, mentally go through the list of things to remind the children, spew entire list at husband when he comes in the bedroom to say goodbye, grumble when he only remembers one thing on the list, pitifully yell to the family “Don’t forget to come say goodbye,” then grumble when no one hears.

A healthy scott at the 8^th grade graduation dinner…

Make way to table that “clark” husband has chosen,  stopping to chat with no less than 5 people along the way, finally sit down when emcee asks the group to take their seats, scan the room constantly to see who is there, who they are sitting with, what they’re wearing, chat with at least 5 more people as we wait in line at the buffet, talk with the other people at my table while I eat, get up to get a dessert and never make it back to the table, (so many people to talk to!), get drug out by husband once all but the cleanup crew has left.

An injured scott at the 8^th grade graduation dinner…

Slowly hobble in on crutches, stop to talk with no one but answer, “What did you do to yourself?” with a swift, “Played soccer with the kids” at least 30 times, sit at the table as soon as I can and stay there for the duration of the party, eat whatever husband brings back from the buffet, watch with envy as everyone has fun, leave as soon as 8^th grader will allow.

A healthy scott during the day…

Shower, do laundry, feed chickens, check to make sure pigs are alive, mow lawn, do more laundry, check social media multiple times, do more laundry, pick up, organize, do more laundry, make all meals, clean kitchen, and basically run ragged all day long.

An injured scott during the day…

Sit on the couch and notice the furniture needs dusting, the floor needs scrubbed, the toys need put away, the socks discarded all around need picked up, the shoes the kids carelessly left at the door need put away;  ponder all of the things most likely being neglected in other rooms, like the laundry piling up the clutter of school and soccer paraphernalia being scattered around the house, the pigs getting sicker and sicker, the bathroom floor getting covered with towels and shin guards and dirty clothes and random crap left in there, and dirty dishes being left all over the counters and the tables; order all children to do all the things; bite tongue almost off in an effort to not yell, “YOU ARE DOING ALL OF THE THINGS WRONG!!”

An injured clark or roger in physical therapy…

I have no idea.  Clark will have to fill you in on this.

An injured scott in physical therapy…

Talk to the therapist about good pain and bad pain, talk and laugh with all other therapists and patients throughout the session, religiously follow all instructions and do all exercises at home, ice the knee three times a day, then two days after the first therapy appointment, come off the crutches and shock all therapists with the progress made.

We scotts are doers.  We scotts work a room (or field) like a boss.  We scotts play with all we’ve got.  Sometimes in all of that doing we crash and burn, but by golly, we are going to be the best damn patients you ever saw in our effort to get back to doing and working and playing.

But I would caution you to avoid us during our days of not doing.  We might be a bit on the grouchy side.

Have a lovely day!

Christine

 

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