On this road trip of life,
The DRIVER function is your main function. It is your most confidant and the one that you’ve been using most of your life. Also referred to as the Primary, Dominant, Leading, or Hero function. Your Driver function is the primary place that your brain likes to function, but it also has a lot of pressure on it because it has the most important job of driving. But in the same way that when you are driving you can zone out and drive unconsciously, your driving function is used unconsciously, and this is why it is your source of energy. But it’s abilities can also be taken advantage of.
The PASSENGER is your second function. It is also referred to as the Helper, Supporting, Good Parent and Auxiliary function. The job of the second function is to support the Driver function. It helps the Driver figure out life and accomplish the road trip. It will help the Driver focus on driving and prevent distractions by doing some of the other tasks, like navigating, messaging people and operating the radio.
The 10 YEAR OLD function is your third function sitting behind the Passenger function. It is also referred to as the tertiary, Relief, and Eternal Child function. The child in the car this function is the part of you that remains eternally innocent. The 10-Year-old is the part of you that is beginning to understand something. The 10-year-old needs their questions answered, if they are ignored, they will throw a fit, causing the Driver to not be able to pay attention to driving. But if the Driver pays too much attention to the 10-year-old and ignores the Passenger, the Driver will stop paying attention to the road and they will drive off it and get lost. But the 10-year-old function isn’t just there to be humored, it has a purpose too. In the same way that children offer unique perspectives because of their innocent way of looking at the world. Adult functions might miss things, might be unaware of something obvious that the 10-year-old function is aware of, these alternative perspectives strengthen the driver and the passenger by giving them a sense relief and motivation that is childlike. In a healthy sense it is the source of your passion.
The 3-YEAR-OLD function is the fourth function sitting behind the driver. It is also referred to as Inferior, Addiction, Aspirational, or Rejection function. This function is the Drivers’ blind spot. The Driver might consciously claim that they reject concepts associated with the 3-YEAR-OLD function but, in reality the Driver aspires to the 3-YEAR-OLD function and is the source of the Drivers vulnerability, fears and insecurities. The 3-Year-old function represents the basic desires of the driver function, if these basic needs are not met, the 3-year-old throws a tantrum causing everyone else in the car to become upset and to not work properly. It is the Passengers job to cater to the 3-year-old function, satisfying its needs so that the Driver can focus on driving.
The DETOUR function is the 5th function. It is also called the Challenging, Opposing, or learning function. The detour function challenges the driver and the functions inside of the car to work together. It can cause the Driver to become frustrated or stubborn, but it is an opportunity for cognitive growth and learning.
I’m skipping the 6th function for now.
The BROKEN SPEEDOMETER is the seventh function. Also called the Deceiving or Trickster function. In this analogy, the driver set out on the Road Trip of Life and noticed that the speedometer wasn’t working correctly, instead of getting it fixed you insisted that it wasn’t important and you’d be able to go the speed limit without the gage. Speed is relative anyways, you can just go the speed everyone else is going and you should be fine. So, you ignore speedometer and trust that the information it provides isn’t necessary. The Driver and the Passenger decided that the function in this position is subjective and therefore the information isn’t important. The driver and the passenger often think that they understand this function and are choosing to dismiss but they usually don’t have any type of solid understanding or awareness and this can lead to you deceiving yourself.
The SPEED LIMIT sign is the 8th function. It is also called Dismissive, Devilish and transformative function. In the road of life analogy, it is the information or way of thinking that you don’t see. You might be able to go the speed limit if you see the sign and open another app to figure out the speed you’re going but you completely miss the speed limit sign. You don’t even see it. Or you were looking for it and then got distracted so you missed it. This function represents what you completely miss and struggle to comprehend. It’s information or judgements you need but you don’t see them. Not that you don’t want to see the speed limit sign but that you miss it or a tree grew in front of it.
The conscious dismissal of the Speedometer and the unconscious missing of the speed limit sign causes the issues with the cop function.
The COP function is the 6th function. Because of the dismissal and the unawareness of the Speedometers and the Speed Limit Sign, you get into trouble with the COP sign. The cop pulls you over and then represents what you criticize about yourself. It also represents what you criticize about others. But this is also not always a bad thing. Recognizing your blind spots and finding ways around them, can help you overcome what you are hardest on yourself about and help you go easier on what you so harshly judge about others.
Closed System 