Cognition is the result of where you naturally focus your attention, your desires, and your interests. Regardless of what your momentary desires or interests may be, each of us has certain deep, secret hopes that mean more to us than anything. While moods and opinions may change, these deepest desires are such a pure reflection of who we really are. In a world where there is so much to do, so much to experience, so much need and so many discoveries waiting to be found, we each inadvertently focus the most on some things over others. The things that we focus on most of all reflect what we want most out of life, deep down. This comes out through cognition, as the unique specialization of your cognitive type.
As the ESTJ Cannon, perhaps nothing is more important to you than diligence, correctness, and simply doing things right the first time for the benefit of those you care about. Cognitively, you focus on taking appropriate actions (EJ) to safeguard the use of those you love (T) as they already are (S). This causes you to think of everything in terms of how it applies to particular, real people you know, rather than to theoretical people as a trend. What matters most to you, deep down, is putting yourself to use in order to help the efforts of your friends and others who share your goals.
This desire to help others get things done gives Cannons their special sort of directness, a hardboiled practicality that nonetheless cares deeply for the feelings and needs of their friends. Healthy cannons see what needs to be done and the steps necessary to get there, and are more than willing to shoulder any burden if it helps their loyal group of likeminded friends. They want their group to function well, and tend to feel intense loyalty for their group’s cause and for any who join with them. As an ESTJ Cannon, you may prefer to fire off your goals boldly, or you may work quietly and tirelessly, all with the aim of fulfilling your role in your group of friends and helping the whole team move like clockwork. Whether you’re shooting yourself toward a goal with decisive focus, or whether you’re giving someone else an explosive boost, you naturally excel at understanding how to use actions, consequences, and the experiences they cause to the best benefit of yourself and those you care about.
None of this means that your specialization of decisive, precise, and dependable action comes easy for you. You have to work at it, just as much as anyone else would. The difference between you and other types is that you care to work at this, above all else. Some may say that it’s just easier for you to meet goals, be practical, and work tirelessly for your cause, but that’s not true; you simply care enough about doing action right for the benefit of your friends, that you’re willing to work much harder at it.
No cognitive type has it easy; every type has to work just as hard at their specialization as anyone else would have to. And every type has to deal with social pressure that tries to make them feel ashamed or embarrassed of their unique specialization. This pressure results in unhappiness and deep, internal conflict, as people feel tempted to ignore their specialization in an effort to not stand out, rock the boat, or look foolish or make anyone else uncomfortable. When we try to ignore our own deepest desires, the reflection of who we really are and really can be, we feel torn, frustrated, and unfulfilled.
This is why understanding our own cognition is so important! As we come to understand what we already wanted in the first place, we learn how to get out of our own way. We learn to let ourselves shine, rather than hiding our light. The world needs what each of us can uniquely offer. We need all the strengths of all the types; each is special at the same time, because each is special in a different way. You don’t do anyone any good when you hide your unique strength, even if you’re afraid it will make others feel uncomfortable. Let yourself be the Cannon you are, blast forward toward helpful goals, and do it in your own personal way. As you do, you’ll implicitly give others permission to be a little more direct, a little more dedicated, and a little more practically caring as they seek to assist you in return.
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