self-improvement | the Wakefield Doctrine

TToT -the Wakefield Doctrine- (only 52 days until Summer!) (well, kinda… its complicated… write a post and we’ll explain)

November 14, 2015 By clarkscottroger

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

For new Readers: this is the TToT. As a ‘gratitude bloghop’, you probably believe that you know how this bloghop works. Allow me to say, ‘yeah, but this is different’. Sure, we write posts about the things that we are grateful, usually the things and events and such that occurred in the just ended week. That pretty much describes the TToT…. (don’t you love ellipseseses? next to italics, they have to be the most effectively suggestive graphic effect in the whole blogosphere!) If you’re joining us for the first (or second) time and have a moment of ‘jeez, it sounds like fun and they certainly seem to be a friendly enough bunch… but I just don’t have enough thing to do a list of 10, better wait until next week,‘ allow me to retort! ‘Nah! you don’t have to wait’. You do have to come up with 10 things, (sorta), but join us and know that this bloghop is different. No, seriously, have you read some of the Posts!?! this is not a little ‘isn’t everything wonderful, I’m so happy with life group hug’. Nope! This bloghop has the Book of Secret Rules (aka the Secret Book of Rules) it’s got virgins (well, technically, they’re Guard Virgins… which does kinda make a difference) and even allows the use of hypo-gratitudinal Items on a List. So, come on! join us.

1-5 the modern age in which we live in… actually, just talking about the technology, i.e. computers, the internet, and the blogsphere

writing this here TToT Post on a computer… not that I couldn’t write it by hand, but I’ve tried (pre)writing Posts and such, on paper… not so much fun
the connectivity (which is almost the correct word)…. hey, do we all remember what rogerian expressions are? No? then see me at Item #6
vidchats and such… we returned to a tradition thats got to been going on for, what, 3 or even 4 years now? (the baseline for legitimate longevity in the internet is more manageable too! no more of this, ‘well, my family’s been farming this land for 7 generations…’ nope! the internet is like dog years, only in reverse! in fact, I’ll venture to say that this blog is, by current blogosphere time adjustment, at least 70 years old!
but what is all this speeding efficiency and such without people! last night’s vidchat was with Lizzi (yeah, the Laura Petrie of vidchats, our Ms. L was one of the pioneer women of this very intimate medium (‘cept without the stodgy burlap dresses and babushka and carrying a goat under one arm and fighting off wolves with the other) sorry! but Lizzi and yours truly, we did kinda bring the internet to New Rochelle*
…and Kristi and Lisa were there too and we talked about writing and such very glad that I could be there

6) rogerian expression:

A rogerian expression is an idiosyncratic statement made only by a roger. A rogerian expression is not simply an incorrect use of words. Rather it is a deliberate use of the wrong words that results in a statement that somehow denies the listener the option to ignore it. You will know these statements when you hear them. There is a moment of disbelief, after which you laugh and shake your head in admiration for the sentence that was made. Examples:

First recorded rogerian expression:
…while still newly married, a roger’s wife threw a faculty party, in part, in the hopes of increasing her chances for tenure. a great deal of effort was put into the preparations and finally the big night arrived. In the middle of the dinner, amidst stimulating and learned conversation on topics ranging from the socio-economic aftermath of the Spanish Civil War, to the cultural legacy of Pancho Villa in rural Mexico, someone (perhaps the Dean, perhaps a colleague of his wife) asked roger if he’d like a second serving of the mashed potatoes, to which he replied, “no thanks! I think I’ll surpass on that!”

7) zoe and her Six Sentence Story bloghop ….and her remarkable ability to encourage and bring out the best (or, failing that, the most creative) in the writing efforts of a remarkably diverse group of bloggers each and every week… Thursdays you oughta join us next week!

8) Una. she sets an example each day for how to approach life. The current get-dark-way-too-damn-early season is not Friday Night Walk friendly. Last week, for example, I got home at my usual time for a Friday, 5:30 or so, and it was already dark! Now Una does keep track of the days of the week and is quite aware that Friday is ‘go for a walk day’. But it was too dark, so we didn’t. Yesterday I made a point to leave early so I could get home before the sun went down, (even though I had to return to work after our walk), and we got in the car, went to the bank (the Tellers love Una and send dog treats back through the money tube). We were both happy to get in a Friday walk.

9) progress on the Serial ‘Blogdominion’ (read Chapter 4) You know how they’re all, like, ‘you can’t talk on your cell phone when driving, it too dangerous!!’? well, you want to know what’s way, way more dangerous? sketching out, in your head, the next chapter of whatever book or Nano or blog Post that you might be writing…. lol talk about distracted driving!! Even I get nervous when I look up and realize I’ve arrived at my office and can’t recall a single minute of the previous 20 minute drive!

10) 1.3 (courtesy of the Book of Secret Rules, aka the Secret Book of Rules, which allows, in the case of SR 1.3 (or the British Common Law 3.1) to count the completion of a TToT list as a Grat Item of selfsame list, (sub-heading: ‘booyah!)

*dated culture reference…. home of Rob and Laura Petrie in one of the seminal TV sitcoms

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A Fly on our (Chicken Coop) Wall, Amycake and the Dude, Considerings, Finding Ninee, Getting Literal, I Want Backsies, The Meaning of Me, Thankful Me, Uncharted, The Wakefield Doctrine

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Filed Under: Featured, Psychology, the Wakefield Doctrine Tagged With: Personal, personality types, relationships, self-development, self-improvement, the Wakefield Doctrine

Monday -the Wakefield Doctrine- ‘enough about the weekend! there’s a work-week coming at us like a runaway train!’

November 9, 2015 By clarkscottroger

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

Good weekend. Got Chapter 4 of Blogdominion finished and published. Cynthia called in on Saturday Night. Wrote a TToT Post and washed the kitchen floor. Not bad as weekends go.

What might this have to do with the Wakefield Doctrine? To be more direct, ‘what does the above ‘list’ of weekend activities have to do with your reading, understanding, applying and enjoying the benefits of our little personality theory?’ Everything and nothing.

But, as Fritz Perls would tell us, lets start with a demand!*

…. ok! you’re back!

(running out of time!) so, the thing about not being cynical and such? …my reference to the poster that sold so many copies and the poster that would not sell that many copies, provides an illustration of what we mean by ‘personal reality,’ here at the Doctrine. We all, everyone of us, go through the day in a reality that is, to a certain degree, personal.

Example: you could have told the owner of the “…it’s beautiful” poster about the part of the quote that was left out, and it most likely would not have changed her feeling towards having the poster on her dorm room wall, (but doing so would, most likely, have changed your odds… unless you were a scott, in which case, if you were still there 2 minutes after your revelation (about the poster) your chances would, like, totally improved… but, if you were a scott, none of this would be going through your mind at the time, because…well, because you’re a scott and as the Wakefield Doctrine tells us, ‘scotts act‘ (and) ‘clarks think… rogers feel‘

Where the hell was I? personal reality! so these three worldviews that are at the center of the Wakefield Doctrine? personal realities, each and every one of them. and…real.

You want to know one of the cool differences between the Wakefield Doctrine and all those popular mainstream personality type systems? (yeah, besides the mountains of empirical data, documentation and clear writing style… thanks for reminding us, roger)… it’s this: imagine that you grew up in a world in which you were, somehow, an alien, an oddity…. they love you and care for you as part of the family, they even ignore the fact that you’re so different and pretend that you’re part of the family and not an Outsider. Well, you’re just learning to deal with the world (you’re 2 or 3 or 5 years old) and, no different from your brothers and sisters and classmates at the pre-early-child-daycare, you’re developing ways to get through your day, learning to deal with the world.

….you live in a world in which you’re the Outsider. Your strategies and style of interaction, i.e. your personality type is geared towards that kind of world, that reality.
You grow up to be a clark, (i.e. you mumble because you don’t want to be noticed, but you will not tolerate being ignored… you stay on the fringes of any group, but manage to be closest to whoever is the alpha, in case you need power… and you learn things, everything and anything, because you believe, (beyond doubt), that the reason the people in your life are accepting of each other is that they know something that you do not know)
…the same for the child finding herself in the world of Predator and Prey and the child who wakes up a Herd Member.

they’re all developing the perfectly appropriate social skills to get through life ‘in the world as they are experiencing it’ clark(Outsider), scott(Predator) and roger(Herd Member)

… that should get us started for the upcoming week!

*ha ha… old grad school joke. Well, not really a ‘grad school joke,’ as much as it’s a joke playing off a quote attributed to our favorite scottian pioneer in the field of modern psychology, Fritz Perls **

** Fritz is also responsible for one of the most enduringly hopeful sayings ever to grace a college coed’s dorm room wall… right next to the ‘hang in there, baby’ poster and just above the desk with the straw-wrapped bottles of rose (one with a candle stuck in the top, an offering to the god of sophomore romance) and one un-opened (in case the gods deign to answer aforementioned offering) and 2 macramé belts, which were the second things the current occupant purchased upon moving into college life as a Freshman…. anyway! the quote that was printed on the poster:

I do my thing and you do your thing.

I am not in this world to live up to your expectations,
and you are not in this world to live up to mine.
You are you, and I am I,
and if by chance we find each other, it’s beautiful

the actual, complete, quote:

I do my thing and you do your thing.

I am not in this world to live up to your expectations,
and you are not in this world to live up to mine.
You are you, and I am I,
and if by chance we find each other, it’s beautiful.
If not, it can’t be helped.

…and no! before you think it, I am not being curmudgeonly and cynical! (well, not too much), I use this ‘marketing-to-hopeful-kids correctness’ as an illustration of one of the really critical aspects of the Wakefield Doctrine. But, to hear the rest of my argument, lets go back to the beginning of today’s Post, ok?

….no, not here! here!

Filed Under: Featured, Psychology, the Wakefield Doctrine Tagged With: Personal, personality types, predicting human behavior, psychology of personality, relationships, self-development, self-improvement, the Wakefield Doctrine

Six grammatically linked linguistic unit(s)* one goal -the Wakefield Doctrine- …well, tell a story, of course! that’s the object!

November 5, 2015 By clarkscottroger

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

I’m playing a little semi-hooky, here in my office at 2:23 pm on Wednesday. Since I didn’t go home for lunch today, I felt that I could take a little break-lette to start this here Post here. It’s my practice to draft something/anything on Wednesday and then, first thing Thursday morning, I write the SSS. The truth is, for me, at any rate, that it’s easier to edit than create. Even if that means that nothing remains of the first draft when I hit ‘Publish’, it’s still easier, better, less stressful and more enjoyable to have a draft Post to work on, instead of staring at a blank screen.

All this is because our friend zoe/Ivy does this bloghop, called Six Sentence Stories. The Rules of participation are simple: write a Story using Six (exactly six) Sentences. This week the prompt word is ‘close’

“This is not what I had in mind for an exciting night out without the kids.”

“Bet you’ve never seen Las Vegas from this perspective!”

“You say the effect is temporary, that they’ll both be alright when they wake up?”

“Absolutely, you know, you’re a natural, the crowd loved you, now lets get back to the dressing room.”

“You know, I think they did!”

“I know they did, hey, wait! don’t forget your close!”

*our friends at Wikipedia say so, that’s who!

Filed Under: Featured, Psychology, the Wakefield Doctrine Tagged With: Personal, personality types, psychology of personality, self-improvement, the Wakefield Doctrine

quick-reprint Wednesday -the Wakefield Doctrine- ’cause it’s all about the Doctrine, isn’t it?’

November 4, 2015 By clarkscottroger

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

courtesy: Friend of the Doctrine Val

Feeling guilty about the number of useful, entertaining and instructive Posts that I’ve been producing of late. Seeing how the goal of this blog is to write a single Post that a stranger, wandering the blogosphere could read and understand and, if they were so inclined, apply the principles of the Wakefield Doctrine in their life, that very same day and realize a direct benefit from having learned about the Wakefield Doctrine, it kinda behooves me to post them Posts! (yeah, that was one long-assed sentence! I’m just limbering up for zoe’s Six Sentence Story!)

This goal, the thing about writing one simple Post that allows you, the Reader, one new perspective on life just from reading a Post, that’s not too ambitious is it? Wait! Don’t answer yet! It’s definitely not too ambitious from the perspective of what the Wakefield Doctrine is and how it might be applied. Sure, maybe a little ambitious on my part. My skills are coming along, but I have a bit of a ways to go. As to the Doctrine and what it has to offer? Not a doubt in my mind that if you use the three worldviews as a way to see the world as the other person is experiencing it, you can’t not benefit. clarks become less vague and uncertain as to what they really want, scotts less volatile and flighty and their enthusiasm becomes more disciplined and focused and rogers, well, suffice to say, some of them become kind and totally altruistic! But don’t take my word for it, read!

So, here’s a reprint from last year. In two parts! That way, if you like what you read, you can go ahead and listen to the video. If not, then, hey! have a nice day, be sure to stop back in again (sometimes, it takes a couple of visits to get this Doctrine thing.)

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

Some people come here and before the end of their first visit, ‘get’ the principles of the Wakefield Doctrine personality theory. Other people read and read, they know there is something here, they enjoy the company of the other Readers but, nevertheless, struggle with the concept. It’s funny, how, very often, the ones that struggle at first? …end up getting further into the use and application and enjoyment of a new idea, than do those who pick it up easily and without difficulty. I’m thinking about Val and Sarah, who have recently written comments expressing a certain… frustration or (semi)-aggravation at knowing the principles but missing out on the fun. To them, (and anyone else out there encountering difficulties with our little personality theory), I want to say, ‘Thank you!’

I used to remind myself (and have myself reminded at by the people* who were here when I started the blog), ‘if the Reader don’t get it, it’s my fault’.
Meaning, of course, it was my responsibility to present the Wakefield Doctrine in manner that would allow anyone having the slightest interest, to read, understand, use and enjoy the Doctrine. It’s funny about blogs, how we start out with a certain goal or idea or image of what it will be like when we have Readers but, somehow as success comes along, some of the fun (and aggravation), risking taking (and embarrassing early attempts) and adventurousness leaves us… we become content that we have what we set out to get, often we are fearful (to some extent, sometimes great, often small ways) of taking chances. (“Hey! careful there! don’t want to alienate any Readers!!” “…are you sure you want to take that approach?” “Dude! don’t screw it up, you know how you always sabotage yourself.”)

I will repeat, ‘Thanks Sarah and Val!’ Thank you for reminding me of the most important thing: a) that I present the Wakefield Doctrine in terms that all of us can read and learn and enjoy and 2) I remember to have fun. ( “It ain’t a college elective we’re writing here!! it’s the damn Wakefield Doctrine.”)

So today I’ll try to present the Doctrine in 2 ways: written and aural***

the Wakefield Doctrine has one simple requirement: the willingness to imagine that we all live in one of three worldviews (these are personal realities… that little portion of reality that is ours alone) and that by (our) growing up and developing into adults in the context of these three worldviews, our personality types are manifested. These three worldviews are: the life of the Outsider(clarks), the reality of the Predator(scotts) and the world of the Herd Member(rogers). We are all born with the potential to live in any of these three, we all settle into one (the predominant worldview), but never lose the capability to experience the world as do ‘the other two’.

the Wakefield Doctrine is best learned by: reading about the characteristics of the three worldviews and learning (for each of the personality types) a person’s likes, dislikes, phobias and failings, strengths, weaknesses and (preferred) strategies in relating to the world.

Once learned, look around and they will be there.
Once learned, observe the behavior of the people in your life and infer how the other person is ‘relating themselves to the world around them’.
Once you have reached a certain level of familiarity (with the three worldviews), be prepared for people to act like clarks and scotts and rogers with a spontaneity and genuineness that may first creep you out (like how did they know to do that) and then you will see behavior and traits that you know you didn’t read about here, but you are certain is a characteristic of the worldview. (at this point, you will laugh and thank us or you will swear to never go near ‘those people and their Doctrine’ again). oh, yeah,…. by the way? if you get to a certain point in learning the Doctrine to where you can see the clarks, scotts and rogers in your life? you…er may not be able to not see them, ya know?
The rest is having fun and writing Comments and contributing to the understanding of the Wakefield Doctrine… like I said, fun stuff.

(as promised: Video Supplement )

* Denise and roger and glenn and jennifer and… Molly (who I saw in the Comments yesterday, she was the total (home)school marm, whenever I would express my misgivings on some point of presentation… as Denzel would say, ‘Laura Engal ain’t got nothin on her!!**)

** no, I don’t think she would say that, but I liked the quote and, somehow, in the way that these things have, the photo I encountered fits just fine for today’s Post.

*** well, not rising to the level of a true rogerian expression, I still enjoy the look of that word choice

-the Wakefield Doctrine- ‘the fun of knowing that the world, …well, that the world is a pretty unpredictable place.’

November 2, 2015 By clarkscottroger

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

no, it’s ok! I’m a Saint

Of course, I mean unpredictable within a reasonable set of parameters. (no, don’t worry, this is not one of those Posts…. it’s just that I have to walk before I run… or is that crawl before I jump… no, I’m pretty sure it’s walk don’t run, unless something is chasing you and you’re fairly certain you don’t want it to catch you, at least not until you’re ready to be caught.)

Well, this is shaping up to be a pretty free-form Monday Post! Might be best if I get to the valuable content before it gets too non-sensical. Agreed?

the Wakefield Doctrine is a very, very useful and fun tool for better understanding the people in our lives. With the perspectives (of the three personality types/worldviews) we are in a position to see the world as the other person is experiencing it. And we all want to better understand the people we encounter today, don’t we? Well, you should. And I’m not saying this from any ‘oh-my-love-of-life-and-all-the-animals-and-fowls-in-the-world simply compels me to spend my life in seeking insight into my fellow human beings. I do, after all, have a significant secondary scottian aspect.* So be on the lookout for the clarks, scotts and rogers out there today. When you interact with them, remind yourself that, if you simply acknowledge the clarks, they’ll go to the ends of the earth for you, and if you don’t show any fear or tendency to run away, you can have the scotts eating from your hand and the rogers… well, be patient.

Speaking of patient! Chapter 3 is on the books. Please go to Blogdominion and give me whatever feedback you are inclined to give. If you’re going there the first time, the site is a little slow and clunky, but you’ll see that there is a Chapter 0-3 (zero being the Prologue). The site lets you Vote or Comment or even Review. Thank you.

This Week: the Gravity Challenge takes on the Godzilla of food months, November! The Graviteers are totally up to the Challenge, but they’ll appreciate it if you stop by from time to time and cheer them on…. zoe and them will be lurking, up there around Wednesday or Thursday, with her Six Sentence Story (like big kids in the Junior High School locker room…. ‘hey lets pants ‘im’) come on! join us, you know you want to! and now that Lizzi is back, (for now), from her amazing walkabout… stop by Considerings and say ‘Hidy!’…. While she’s very busy shaping the future for a generation of grade schoolers and may not be at her blog when you go there, stop by Pictimilitude! Cynthia has a side project that you’re totally going to love… (can’t tell you, it’s a secret! But for a hint: you won’t feel as bad as you once did if you don’t stay inside the lines!)

*not certain what this means? then clearly you need to spend more time reading about the three worldviews (aka personality types) of the Doctrine. ok… since you’re asking nicely, according to the Wakefield Doctrine, we are, all of us, born with the potential to experience the world from one of three perspectives:

as an Outsider (clarks)
as a Predator (scotts)
as would a Member of the Herd (rogers)

and, at an early age we settle into one (of these three personal realities). The rest of our early lives are spent learning and practicing strategies and approaches that are most effective in the context we find ourselfs. But, we never lose the potential to experience the world as do ‘the other two’ (the 2 non-predominant worldviews). Some of us, in fact, have characteristics from ‘the other two’ at higher levels than others. Myself, as an example, I’m a clark with a significant secondary scottian aspect and a marginal tertiary rogerian aspect. What this means is that I mumble, put my hand near my face when I’m talking to you, my posture is sort of a slouch, but I’m pretty funny and totally a good listener. You know someone like that, I know you do. Now, about that secondary scottian aspect. This post today is about learning to understand people better and is, by and large, pretty insightful. It also has an image of a painting of a guy grabbing some medieval chick’s boob…. with a funny caption. Any questions?