Reframing Techniques : Positive Reframing

• How you frame life will either empower or restrict you.
• Your perception of something will often determine the end result.
• Things are usually not as bad as you first think!

Many people tend to see self discipline as a constant struggle in which they try to achieve and accomplish their goals and objectives.

Actually, the opposite is true. Those people with the greatest amounts of self discipline possess the greatest enjoyment in life.

They don’t necessarily try harder, but rather they tend to try and succeed in ways that eliminate painful feelings.

Reframing

One of the best ways of dealing with the pain that may come from changing to a more disciplined lifestyle, is to see the pain in a different perspective.

This technique is called “reframing” and it works much like a frame around a picture.

A poor frame can make any painting look bad, just like a beautiful frame can make a mediocre picture look better.

The central principle behind reframing is that there is no good or bad in life. There is only your perception of it.

Change The Frame Around Your Life!

So the term “reframe” refers to your ability to take a frame of reference or perspective, and reframe it into something that can support you.

We all see life in a way that either limits or empowers us, and so you can use this concept to develop a more self disciplined life.

The key to reframing is to see the things and experiences in your life, as supporting your goals and objectives.

If you can do this, you will not only have a much more optimistic outlook on life, but will also gain more control over it.

See Everything As Empowering You

This kind of reframing approach is extremely common amongst highly successful people. Their frame of reference is that virtually everything empowers them, and is bringing them closer to their goals.

Unsuccessful people tend to be distracted by negatives and setbacks, and this frame therefore tends to be destructive to their lives.

For example, many people who fail in business or at something they are trying to do, often become discouraged and usually give up without trying again.

However other people who fail will see their experience as a lesson, from which they can learn and use to try again next time.

So whilst two different people may experience the same event, how they “frame” that event is what really determines the eventual outcome they will have.

Context Reframing

Two types of reframing that will help change your attitude to the negative aspects of self discipline, are content and context reframing.

Context reframing refers to your ability to take a negative situation, and make it positive in another context. For example, “I wanted to go to the park today, but I can’t as it’s such a rainy day. Oh well, at least the car is clean now. I needed to wash it anyway.”

Once you try using context reframing you will be surprised at how many things you once saw as a negative, actually turn out to be positive and beneficial in some way. A good example to demonstrate this point is the story of the 3m company.

They had developed an adhesive that didn’t stick very well, and so wondered how they were going to sell an adhesive that didn’t do it’s job!?

One researcher decided to reframe the situation, and put a little bit of adhesive on the back of a piece of paper. The result? “Post It Notes”!

Content Reframing

Content reframing is the second type of reframing. It involves changing what a situation means to you. For example, Christians look at death not as the end of life, but as the beginning of life in heaven.

Or to use a previous example, people who fail at business and then go onto be successful see their first failure not as a failure, but a valuable lesson from which they can learn through failing.

Content reframing can be used to change how you perceive virtually any situation. For example, if you have been putting off cleaning your room or garage, it is probably because you have a negative mental image of it.

Maybe you picture a messy room? Boring and tedious work? Something that’s going to take you forever to do?

But what do you think would happen if you changed that image, and reframed it? How about making the image brighter? Seeing your friends and family helping you, whilst telling jokes to each other? Do you think your attitude to the situation would change? You bet it would!

You don’t hate your house looking clean, you just hate the perceived pain it takes you to get it that way. By reframing the task into something more enjoyable, you will vastly increase your willingness to do it.

It’s Not As Bad As You Think!

Think of the last time you avoided doing something, and then feeling that it wasn’t that bad once you had actually started it. Maybe you even enjoyed it?

This is one of the reasons why context reframing can be so beneficial in overcoming the initial resistance to starting a task.

Often the image we have of something, is actually worse than the reality of doing it. By using context reframing you will overcome that initial resistance and in turn will likely get more done, in a shorter period of time and without procrastinating beforehand.