Goal of Submission | Michael Teachings

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The Goal of Submission

+ Devotion
– Subservience

10% of the
population

Action

BY PHILLIP WITTMEYER

The Goal of Submission expresses in a person as a continual quest for passivity, responsiveness, and acquiescence. The intention here is to surrender to, and maintain an allegiance to, the powers that be. The Submission will be exhibited toward the mate, the nation, the team, the society, the company, the boss, the club — to whatever and to whomever the person with this Goal attaches himself or herself as a devotee. A person with this Goal looks for someone or something to dedicate his life to. He asks for others to take the lead. Then he responds to it willingly and obediently. The person is frustrated if no one or nothing suitable is found to which he can render his need to show respect and homage. The ultimate aim of this Goal is the extinction of ego — "ego" in the sense of self-will and self-assertion. The purpose is to totally yield to reality. It is unnatural for a person with this Goal to struggle to maintain his independence or ascendancy. A person in Submission does not make things happen, he lets them happen. A person with this Goal looks forward to the time when there is nothing new, when all the laws are made and followed, when the patterns of behavior are permanently set, and all novelty is put into the past.

A person with this Goal has a strong sense of duty and responsibility, of faithfulness and honor to any commitments made. He shows deference to his leaders or superiors. He likes being a part of a team effort, working together for a goal. Comradeship is very important. He focuses seriously on the task at hand, planning to carry it to fulfillment as effectively has he can. In a relationship, he believes that his loyalty puts the other person in a bind to be loyal also, and he is surprised if the other betrays this trust, and is "perfidious".

For the System, the Positive Pole of Submission is called "+Devotion (though I prefer Dedication). In this Pole the person seeks loyalty to something or someone. It is important to someone in this Pole to find a person, a cause, or an institution to truly respect and honor. In the extreme case of Devotion (Dedication), this is a person who would like to attach himself to a person or situation, and give the self over to it. If the person is religious natured, then perhaps God or the church is the ultimate answer here. Often a person in +Devotion (Dedication) likes to become a part of a movement that is stronger than any individual. Numbers of such people gather to form a mass movement. They all march together, so to speak, for a cause. It fulfills them to be a cog in a big machine. The larger the machine, the better, in fact.

The Negative Pole of Submission is called "-Subservience". If you are in this Pole, you tend to look for a law outside yourself to obey. Rather than taking responsibility for yourself, you put it onto some rule book, or some leader, or some principle. You seek a law for every life situation. If you make plans, you try strongly to adhered to them. You desire to find out what discipline should be followed. You seek to be obedient to the rules, to follow orders. If you are in a business, political, or military situation — where this Goal is very appropriate — and you are in the Negative Pole, you will desire regulations to cover every circumstance, or you will readily adopt someone else's prescribed procedure. You willingly allow yourself to be a pawn in the power games of life. You may ask, "What are the guidelines here?", and, "How can I be more attuned to the laws?", and, "What do you want from me, your obedient follower?" A few appropriate mottoes for this Pole are, "Whatever you say", and, "Just tell me what to do", and, "Whose responsibility is this?" In its worst manifestations, if you are a person in -Subservience, you do not take responsibility for yourself because you place the burden on others, saying in effect, "You made me do it." You are unwilling to take charge of your own life. You tend to give up your autonomy and becomes dependent on the person or institution to which you become attached in your servility. You subjugate yourself with demonstrations of overmuch respect. You are overly compliant and clinging, perhaps even obsequious.

When things are going your way, it is easy to stay in the Positive Pole of your Goal, but when things are not going your way, you will tend to slip into the Negative Pole. -Subservience is driven by a fear of disloyalty — loyalty being part of the Positive Pole. When other people are not loyal to you, does that throw you into a tailspin of anxiety? Do you regard it as "abandonment" when others are not faithful? When other people do not obey the rules, does that make you very uneasy? Do you quake in your boots to consider not doing your duty? Do you want other people and the universe in general above all to be dependable? Do you regard disobedience as treasonous and treacherous, worthy of strict punishment? Do you have a lot of trouble stepping forward and taking the initiative? Do you often find yourself trapped in a situation with a commanding or dominating personality? If you answer yes to a lot of these questions, it is very likely you are in Submission, and you have a problem with the Negative Pole. The way for you to overcome -Subservience is to consider and apply the Positive Pole of the Complementary Goal of Dominance, which is +Leadership. Learn to take responsibility for yourself and exercise leadership over yourself, and thereby gain internal control of your life and your situation.

This may be a sexist stereotype inherent in our culture, but it seems that a man with this Goal is often totally dedicated to his job or career — he gives his all to it. Whatever the job or boss requires, that is what he does. He acquiesces to its every demand on his time and energy, letting it rule his life. A person with this Goal usually makes an excellent employee — in a follower sense, because he may not be a great self-starter. However, he will stick with the company through good times and bad, and he will expect the company to stand by him also. Similar statements could be made about his family situations and other personal relationships.

A woman with this Goal — and again this seems to be a sexist stereotype in our society — tends to turn her dedication to her husband or lover. She follows him around like the proverbial faithful puppy dog. (Perhaps it can be said that a canine has the Goal of Submission, for he is faithful to his master, and respectfully awaits his arrival home.) She asks for permission to do things, even little things. She seeks his advice on all issues or problems. She looks to him for guidance and direction. In our culture, this Goal is considered to be feminine. Women who have this Goal, yet are more "liberated", might prefer to attach themselves to a career or institution and dedicate their energy to its purposes, rather than to a man.

Now let's contrast and compare the Goal of Submission with the other three Traits in the same Quadrate — Dominance, Aggression, and Perseverance — and see what we can learn.

The Submission Goal is the Complement of the Dominance Goal. Both Goals are concerned with issues of teamwork. People in Dominance and Submission are both trying to establish a hierarchy, or "pecking order", as it is sometimes called. They both ask "Who's in charge here", but for opposite reasons. A person with the Goal of Dominance wants to move toward the head of the group, but a person with the Goal of Submission wants to move toward the back of the group. Whereas a person with the Dominance Goal wants to lead others or manage situations, a person with the Submission Goal wants to follow others or let the situation command them. A person in Submission often actually perceives himself as too dominant, so he seeks to avoid pushing other people around or forcing a situation.

Submission is the diametric of the Aggression Mode. Whereas a person in Aggression is dynamic and vital, a person in Submission wants to be just the opposite. He tries to be nonassertive, non-forceful, noncompetitive. He does not insist on getting his way, and he is not pushy or bold. He tends to lack strength and impetuosity, and he is often weak when it comes to putting himself forward. Whereas a person in Aggression is direct and to the point, a person in Submission is likely to "beat around the bush", to backpedal, to go easy, and to tread lightly. People Submission get very uncomfortable in the presence of naked Aggression. It is too unpredictable, and too much of a law unto itself.

The Goal of Submission is the Counterpart of the Perseverance Mode. Like people in Perseverance, people in Submission lack a dynamic, vital, lively behavior. Both resist innovation. People in Submission seek what people in Perseverance have — regularity of behavior and continuance of circumstances. People with this Goal find it difficult to let go of bonds of association. They want to keep their friends in spite of the difficulties, stay with their job in spite of the problems, continue in a marriage that doesn't really work, and so on. They take faithfulness to the limit in every case.

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Phil Wittmeyer is a longtime Michael student and scholar of the teachings. He can be reached at: wittmeyer@hotmail.com