the Wakefield Doctrine

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

Well! for someone who hasn’t exactly been burning up the ‘inter-wires’* I am displaying a rather clarklike over-ambition in my subtitle today, no? Perhaps it would be for the best that I bullet-point the few things/ideas/concepts that I would like to cover this morning, then, …as any good clark knows. ‘if I fail, I’ll only have myself to blame‘ (or is that, ‘if I fail, I’ll have only myself to blame.’?) hmmm.  whatever, never mind, on to the bullet points:

• identification
• using the Wakefield Doctrine to improve one’s life today
• the basics of the Wakefield Doctrine

There! That makes me feel a little better.

Quick Quizz!! That last statement is a reflection of which of my three worldview/aspects?

1. predominant worldview:   clark aka the world of the Outsider (“ I’m here and the world’s out there…“)
2. secondary aspect:  scott  the Predator  (“If it moves, chase it… if it ignores you… what?? what kind of non-sensical statement is that?!!)
3. tertiary aspect:  roger  the Member of the Herd  ( the world is potentially perfect, therefore I have the potential to be perfect, as long as everyone plays their part correctly things will be just….perfect!”)

…. I’ll come back later and discuss the answer.

Identification is the term we use to describe what happens when clarks recognize other clarks. (yes, rogers and scotts can, and, in fact, do recognize each other in the world. Their response is a function of their worldviews, but we started out talking about clarks and identification… alright, alright fine! real quick review:

• scotts recognize other scotts and will challenge (the other), establish ranking, divide the hunting grounds and go their separate ways… you’re at a party? and you have reason to believe that there is more than one scott in attendance…  once you spot one, (of the scotts), look to the area, (where this is all taking place), farthest away. that’s where you’ll find ‘the other scott‘
• rogers recognize other rogers by identifying the clarks or the scotts… no, seriously! (you have ‘done the reading’ haven’t you?!  everyone is a part of the Herd and therefore are rogers…except those who are not. the Herd is celebrated by identifying the non-Herd members)… at that same party?  rogers are the people who form the groups, and, of these groups, the rogers are the ones nearest the center without being either the center or the outer edges, (those two positions are for the scott and the clarks, respectively)

…back on topic. clarks stand to benefit the most from a) the Wakefield Doctrine and 2) the identificationing with other clarks.

…now I have to stop for today. I’ve a Post over at ‘the 2 Mile Run’ to post and need to get to work.

… oh shit!! the third bullet-point… the Basics of the Wakefield Doctrine (for the new Readers)   ok,  look,  assume that what you experience is (potentially) different than what your, wife/boyfriend/co-worker/pupils/surly repairman that you interact with today, is experiencing. Nothing weird…no talking mailboxes or flying wrenches…. just different. Now imagine that the way (the world is different for each of us) can be described from three perspectives:

1. the world as experienced by the Outsider (clarks) these people are not ‘a part of’ the world or of a particular group of people or anything…. not deep down inside, where it counts… these people see the world as an external place that they are visiting  (nice enough people, a bit skittish and a tendency to mumble, but really funny when you get to know them)
2. the life of the Predator (scotts) this worldview, (thats the term we use for the personal reality that we all experience life in)…. is easy to describe: excitable, friendly mercurial, aggressive, attractive, (did we mention, aggressive?)… they’re the friend you had in school who was always in trouble and, somehow getting you in trouble too, yet, now that you think of it, you’re not mad at them
3. the reality of the Herd Members (rogers)… the world is a quantifiable place.  2 plus 2 always…always!! equals 4  (I mean, it never once has a chance to equal anything but 4!! sheesh!)  they’re the engineers, the accountants, the head of the Year Book committee, the pledge committee, the Ways and Means Committee  (you’re getting the sense of the group thing here, right?) good friends, reliable advice… emotional and tend to get upset with things that don’t go according to Plan

OK… so everyone you meet today will be relating to the world from one of these three perspectives. Figure out which (the other person is) and you will know more about them than they know about themselves.

…write us some comments and questions and such!

* source: I believe our friend Lizzi gets credit for this little gem of a meme

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

Readers are familiar with my own theory of writer block* will immediately recognize what I’m up to, but the fact remains, I haven’t posted here since Monday and if it takes a gimmick to jumpstart a Post, I’m all for it.

the Wakefield Doctrine is:

• a perspective on human behavior, an additional way of understanding the people in our lives
• based on the idea that all of live, to a certain, but very real extent, in a reality that is personal
• comprised of three personality types that represent the world, as experienced by all of us as we grow up
  • clarks who grow up in a world in which, not only are they outside and apart from what they believe is the society of normal, happy and satisfied people, but are driven by the false belief that it is a problem for their mind to overcome, as opposed to their hearts
  • scotts running and chasing, celebrating the life of the predator, emotions un-tethered by long-term relationships, fight or flight being the simple way of the world, living for the day and holding nothing back, against a future that they simply do not have the time to waste worrying about
  • rogers who know that the world holds the Answer and they carry the responsibility to find and demonstrate the Right Way, at least demonstrate it to the Herd that has always been around them, since they can remember, they belong and their only fear is that they will be judged, by the Herd as being …un-worthy

the Wakefield Doctrine is not:

• ‘the Answer’… it does not claim the end all and be all of explanations for Life, aggravating people, the search for Peace in the World or an answer to the question: who is it that makes up the audience for most cable tv shows??! including but not limited to Honey Boo Boo or the one about over-weight guys with bad teeth  or those people on the real estate shows where the guys act like girls and the women act like…. girls
• the only way to better understand personality types, there would appear to be as many personality theories as there are people with the ego and access to undergraduate psych students, who can be cajoled into doing, pretty much anything, at least enough to generate the statistics to support their personality schema
• all serious and solemn and such

The Wakefield Doctrine is a unique, useful and fun way to look at the people in our lives. Skillful use of the Doctrine will allow you to know more about the other person, than they know about themselves. You need never hear yourself say, “how could they go and do such a thing!! I really thought I knew them better than that!”

*simply that when (most of us) experience ‘writer’s block’, it’s because we are out of ideas and things to write about and such… it’s like our internal critic has just gotten back from the gym and is all pumped up on the pheromones of personal competition (your writer is of the Y Chromosome persuasion and will stand by this statement, for my people, however, I cannot speak for the  other side. Maybe you people don’t have a competition machine, cranking itself at the slightest hint of the presence of a bigger more powerful er….machine.  In fact, I’m tempted to suggest that the X Gender-ettes do not have that same sense of the value of winning, of pounding your opponent into the ground, thoroughly defeated, a whole-hearted embracing of sportsmanship.
I submit for evidence: A number of years ago, while channel-surfing, I happened upon a College Women’s Basketball game. It was the last game of a national championship series or something. Anyway, one of the players, on one of the teams, (pretty sure it was the University of Connecticut Go!! Huskies), was 2 points away from setting a national record. Her team got the rebound, all 10 young women race down the court, she gets the ball and… everyone stopped moving.  no, really, they (yes, I mean the opposing team…all five of them) stop playing and stood around as the-about-to-set-a-womens-individual-all-time-scoring-record player,   continues on to the basket and layer up for the 2 pointer. She didn’t seem to notice that, like one of those episodes of Twilight Zone, the world and everyone in it froze in time, 10 basketball player statues on a real like basketball court and her. She broke the record. I think everyone hugged everyone else.
I didn’t get it. I still don’t.
Oh man! I’ve totally forgotten about the Post up there!  See?!?! that’s what I mean about writer’s block! Any other time, or any other writer with a modicum of pride, would have said to themselves, “no! you’re not going to write about the lack of competitiveness in the womanly race. you’re not that clever a writer, your Readers will all get mad…worse they’ll just ignore you. lets find a topic that’s subtle and reflective of the human need to reach out to the universe and become one… or, that personality theory of yours. that’s always a safe bet.”)

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

I went to check the progress of renovation work being done to one of my properties today. I stop by at least once a week and, each time see a different set of contractors working on the house, this being a full roof to basement re-do. Today the dry wall/plaster crew was there. I saw the dog, (in the photo above), as I parked my car. Smiling, I got out of my car and waited for him to be a dog and bark and come over to me and make sure I belonged and/or had any right to come on his property.
I talked to him, (no matter what the breed, how big and ferocious they might be), I always start my conversations with, “Puppy dog! what a good-looking doggie you are!”  [funny, isn’t it? a person’s sense of self-consciousness, when it comes to behavior that might be regarded as silly or inappropriate, is totally tied to how much that person enjoys whatever the reason is…for…acting silly. It didn’t  matter if anyone was watching this real estate broker get out of his car and ignoring everything, have an out loud conversation with the approaching dog].
In any event, we met and he was a friendly dog. I started walking towards the house, (“come on! lets go see the house!”). He was a German Shepherd, probably 6 or 7 years of age, and I immediately noticed the slant of his hindquarters. (It’s my opinion that the most monstrous form of animal abuse I can think of is the breeding of dogs to match some person or breeder organization or show dog judges. The words of this conformance standards can be seen in some German Shepherds. My guard dog today being one them.)

My new friend and I walked towards the front door. As we stepped up onto the raised brick walk leading to the front door, he fell. He half-fell. His rear legs simply did not negotiate the step-up on to the walk.

I turned and looked at him. He looked at me with an expression that… represents what makes dogs so amazing. It was a look that said, ‘hey, sorry. legs gave out. Go on without me, I’ll be alright…just have to get back up.’

I felt sorrow for him. I didn’t ‘feel sorry for him‘, I felt sorrow.

What an awful feeling. My stomach fell, trying to pull my eyes into my throat.

I waited. He got up, without undue distress, clearly he was used to this happening. Once he was back on all fours, I actually said, in all sincerity and seriousness, “hey you should go back to your post, I’ll just go in myself’…. (yes, I said this out loud ), and he did just that.

What does this have to do with self-improvement and the Wakefield Doctrine?

You will read in these pages the statement, ‘…the Wakefield Doctrine is a tool to help you better understand the people in your life‘. This is a true statement. It is also a tool to better understand yourself. Which, when you think about it, can be a much more difficult task than:

• understanding why your husband insists on using a sharpie to make outlines of the tools that he hangs in the shed or
• your daughter who totally thinks that her expression of her individuality (purple hair, nose rings and combat boots) should not go against her in the upcoming job interview.

Using the Wakefield Doctrine allows me a slightly different perspective on myself. Which, given that I am a clark, is at once more difficult and more valuable. We all, (clarks, scotts and rogers), have blind spots.* And, if you’re after improving on the way you relate yourself to the world around you, then you had better find a way to see into that area. There might be treasures there.

The biggest blind spot for those of us who grew up and live in the personal reality of the Outsider, is emotion. Not that we don’t have or feel emotion. It’s just that we’re not always on the best of terms. (New Readers? If you read and learn the worldviews as well as some, people like zoe and Kristi and Val…. then, had you heard a person utter that last sentence, (“It’s just that we’re not always on the best of terms’), you would be totally thinking, ‘probable clark‘.  lol

But I felt the raw emotion today. Just for a second. And I knew that it, (the emotion), was, as Castaneda might have said, ‘a thing of power’. It was an indication that there are parts of me that I do not know very well and that, if I am to self-improve myself, I will need to come to know better.

….but, it was so sad.

But hey, no one said it would be easy. In fact, most people will say, ‘if you want to change for the better, there is a price to pay and it’s always going to be almost more than you’re willing to pay.’

* I will not go into how insufficient the term ‘blindspot’ is in this context. It is. Maybe the next Post.