Projection seeks to locate that which is inside outside. The obvious example is noticing character defects in others which one has denied in oneself.
I was once taught (incorrectly) that a past version of me is still inside me, namely a small child, and it is that child that is frightened or angry or demanding of attention. I don't have the problem. The child has the problem. I do not have to correct my thinking. I do not even have to correct the child's thinking. I must comfort the child, and refrain from challenging its errors: it had every right to be frightened or angry or demanding of attention. The monsters are real; they are out there; they are in the past; they are beyond reach.
The problem is thus located outside myself, beyond permanent solution, susceptible only to temporary palliation.
There is no small child inside me. There is no past version of me battling on into adulthood.
The past is gone.
There is only one me.
And it is here and now.
I'm troubled only by what is current and present.
The truth is, when I'm frightened or angry or demanding attention, it is I who am frightened or angry or demanding attention. I cannot solve the problem unless I know what and where the problem is located.
What is the problem?
My current beliefs.
If I am frightened, I believe that I am a material being under threat from something in the material world.
I am mistaken. Not bad, mistaken.
If I am angry, I believe that some good is being withheld from me by others.
I am mistaken.
If I am demanding attention, I believe that I lack attention, and attention will solve this problem.
I am mistaken.
Unless I recognise the mistakes and correct them, the problem will persist.
As soon as the mistake is corrected, it is gone.
The solution is instant and ever-present, if I want it.