Identifying Attitude Imprinting

Imprinting around Attitudes ends up creating conflict as we end up struggling within ourselves to take the right tone with the people with whom we interact. When we are imprinted to be an Attitude that we are not, then we end up compromising ourselves by doing the Attitudes of our parents so that we never find our own voice. This is one of the most heavily compromised areas where we end up behaving like our parents without realizing it. While many will believe that this factor has little to do with interacting in the real world, Attitudes actually help form the intention and make real the direction of how we interact with others. Even individuals operating unconsciously realize the impact of a similar attitude versus an unfamiliar one as this is one of the most visible components of our “personality.”

Stoic Imprinting

Stoic imprinting has more of a forced quality to it. Individuals with a primary Stoic attitude revel in coming from behind and overcoming adversity. Particularly they enjoy not letting others see the impact of their interactions on them. Imprinted Stoics are more distant and disconnected. They do not push back as much as full Stoic attitude individuals, nor do they challenge the status quo, which individuals who are full Stoics do. This is because Stoic imprinting is more collapsed in itself and is not as cohesive. Instead, the attitude is “I gave up so, what’s that to you.” Our behavior can be seen as wanting to appear tough and strong to demonstrate our power to define our own reality, particularly with true Stoics. With stoic imprinting, we are even more isolated than a natural Stoic and end up justifying our existence as something we really cannot change or affect. Instead, it would be good encourage the individual to define their needs up front so everything can be framed in terms of their perspective.

Spiritualist Imprinting

Spiritualist-imprinted people believe that everything will happen in God’s time but don’t actually see this happen. Spiritualist imprints are left holding the bag, feeling that somehow they missed something in the process. This is because they don’t have the faith or the drive required to hold so many possibilities or anchor so many new ways of doing things that a full Spiritualist would. This is why, instead of the full “it could be” Spiritualist perspective, they take it down a notch and believe “it should be.” But even they have trouble believing it. Spiritualists have the belief that everything will work out in time while Spiritualist imprints believe that everything is working out, unfortunately not the way they imagined it to be. For this reason Spiritualist imprints are not as bright and cheery and instead have a tone that more matches Idealist in many ways. Our behavior can be seen as the need to be in constant expansion where we want to be all things to all people, particularly to natural Spiritualists. This can result in us appearing confused, lost, ambivalent and indecisive. Actually, this individual is eclectic, uses circuitous thinking based on free-association that is not unsuccessful, particularly in defining new possibilities.

Skeptic Imprinting

Imprinted Skeptics are full time Skeptics that frequently go on vacation. Imprinted Skeptics go in and out of the skepticism, picking those battles with which they wish to deal and letting go of those battles where they think the odds are against them. This is different from full time Skeptics who believe it is their duty to examine every issue and provide commentary about what could go wrong. Imprinted Skeptics have more doubt about their ability to impact things in a positive way using the Skeptic attitude. They do not enjoy being Skeptics as full time Skeptics do. At the core, they do not think their contribution is appreciated. Therefore their belief is “it might not be but then again, who cares.” Our behavior can be seen as suspicious or separative because we tend to overdo our investigations through doubt and a lack of trust, particularly with natural Skeptics. Ironically, with a Skeptic imprint, we are satisfied with our beliefs based on past experience, many times over the current reality. It is easier for us to believe in conspiracies than in the reality of the current situation. We would do well not to deny the beliefs of skeptics, otherwise their advice will not be trusted.

Idealist Imprinting

Imprinted Idealists want to do what is right but are not quite sure what that is. While imprinted Idealists believe in big possibilities and strive to improve things in their life, they do not have the same transformative power as full Idealists. This is because they tend to hold back more and be more selective in the way in which they approach things, while full Idealists operate from “it should be” and seek to make it happen. Idealist imprints operate from “it would be nice for it to be that way” and do not display the commitment or the power of a person attempting to create the future. This is usually because they have other attitudes which tend to overshadow their Idealist imprinting. Idealist imprints come out most around other full Idealists and their idealism is most felt when it is supported by others. The bottom line for an imprinted Idealist is the belief that if it is possible and things seem to line up, only then “will I push for something that is new.” Our behavior can be seen as ungrounded and naïve, particularly since we do not naturally follow through on our ideas, particularly by true Idealists. With Idealist imprinting, we want others to agree with us, particularly on the big picture. Since we can be polarized by the statements of our partners who do not honor our higher truth or perspective, it is best for our partners to listen and accept us as we are. Particularly, we typically are not very tolerant of Skepticism or Cynicism because it appears to deny our positive framework.

Cynic Imprinting

Imprinted Cynics are like Don Rickles who keep harping on what is going wrong without really believing it. Imprinted Cynics somehow have the notion that there must be a silver lining in all this negativity. For this reason they are more disgruntled and do not feel compelled to tell you exactly why it is wrong. Usually this means they make snide comments and leave it at that. This is different from full Cynics who cheerfully articulate all the ways that things will not work. Imprinted Cynics more likely mumble and complain without really articulating things in a way that could change them. While full Cynics say, “it won’t work out, no matter what it is,” imprinted Cynics have the belief, “who cares, we are going to Hell in a hand basket.” It is obvious from this statement that imprinted Cynics are the most depressing to be around. Our behavior can be seen as sarcastic and apprehensive by natural Cynics, particularly when we do not understand the real or underlying issues. When we are at a loss of what to say, we can get into denigrating the ideas of others in order to feel better about our lack of ideas or contribution. We believe that criticism is constructive because in the process we will determine what works and does not work. Ironically, we do not like to argue, as authentic Cynics would, so we keep jumping in and out of the process to maintain a sense of connection with ourselves. When we have Cynic imprinting, we can make snide comments as a way of trying to connect with others with humor.

Realist Imprinting

Realist-imprinted individuals are not as focused on details or time frames as much as full Realists. Imprinted Idealists are more surprised about how it is and feel that they have to articulate what they see more than the full Realist. Therefore imprinted Idealists are much more likely to have to prove or demonstrate their point of view than full Realist. The challenge of individuals around imprinted Realists is that they may not be consistent or as focused, creating doubt in others about their intention or capabilities. On the other hand, because of this they may seem more fluid or flexible, like the Pragmatist. Realist-imprinted individuals believe that it is a good idea to articulate what they see, yet they will not fight for their observation. Our behavior can be seen as judgmental, with a “we know best” conviction that is hard to overcome, particularly to natural Realists. With Realist imprinting, we deny our own bias and subjectivity, believing that our experiences empower us to impose our truth on others for their own good. Our partners need to deeply listen to this individual, taking clear notes so they are able to clearly summarize the overall needs to get the sale. Without honoring the details, any partner that does not reflect the larger reality of a Realist imprinted individual will not complete the sale. What we need to remember is to recognize that this individual wants to be influential.

Pragmatist Imprinting

Pragmatist-imprinted individuals are even more detached from any prescribed way of being than full Pragmatists. If full Pragmatists seem withdrawn and uncommunicative about their motivations, then Pragmatist-imprinted individuals are even more so. The reason for this is different with these imprinted individuals for they are simply confused, while full Pragmatists are actually more secretive and even manipulative. Pragmatist imprints can be noticed most for their blank look and their willingness to adopt another person’s view even though they know it will not work. Pragmatist-imprinted individuals tend to want to get things out of the way and are not as direct or as interested in finding an actual solution to the problem in front of them. This is the perfect imprint for a bureaucrat because they do not really care about the problem so much as following the right procedure, according to the book. Our behavior can be seen as opinionated, rigid, narrow-minded or pedantic, particularly to natural Pragmatists. Individuals with Pragmatist imprinting tend to use information to prove themselves right, even when they know it in not accurate. We also find it hard not to speak our opinions, which arise from feeling not heard as a child. We seek to clarify and classify the circumstances so we can implement a standard preexisting solution. We are frustrated when others suggest that the situation is more complex than the solution we are proposing. This is due to our desire for quick responses.