The Art Of Change

Reframing - The Art Of Changing Meaning

The process of turning a negative experience into a
positive one is
called reframing.

The two ways in which you can do this is Content
Reframing and
Context Reframing.

Content Reframing

Content Reframing is the process of changing a
negative experience
into a positive one by changing the meaning of the
experience.
Remember, every event has multiple meanings. The
meaning we choose
to focus on is what becomes real for us.

The best way to do a content reframe is to ask the
question, ''What
else can this mean?'' ''How can this benefit or empower
me instead of
depressing me?''

For example, if the recession hit when you were about
to start your
business, you could content reframe it by saying,
''Good! This means
that business costs, like rental and salaries, will be
lower and
allow us to break even faster''.

Or you could say, ''Good! This means prospective
clients will be
more open to listening to suppliers who offer better
value for
money.'' There are multiple reasons why starting a
business in a
recession will be a positive experience!

What if someone told you, ''My son does not stop
talking'' You could
reframe this negative comment by saying ''Good that
means he must be
full of ideas'', or , ''This means he must be very
intelligent.''

If the person you love leaves you for someone else,
reframe the
loss by saying, ''Good. This means that I can find
someone who truly
loves me'' or ''this means I can find someone who is
more caring,
beautiful and loyal.''

Context Reframing
Another way to reframe an experience is to do a
context reframe. A context reframe is the process of changing a negative
experience into a positive one by changing the context from which it is perceived.
Have you ever had a negative experience only to look
back at it five years later and say, ''That was a blessing in
disguise?'' In a different context (i.e. the future), the meaning of
that experience changed from bad to good.

In doing a context reframe, you must ask the question,
''in a different time or place, how would the meaning be beneficial?''
You see, everything that seems bad now, when put into a different time or place, could appear beneficial.
Going back to the first example of starting a business
in a recession, you could use a context reframe by saying,
''When the economy picks up, the company will be positioned to do
very well as it has been tested & strengthened by the recession''.
You could do a context reframe on the boy who talks
all the time by saying, ''When he grows up, he will make a good public
speaker'' (context of time). Or you could also say, ''The fact that he talks
all the time will certainly earn him a place on the school debating
team (context of place). Are you getting the hang of it?
How we represent or (frame) our experiences determine
our response
and the outcomes we achieve. Therefore we must learn
to constantly
frame experiences in ways that empower ourselves and
the people around us.
When we change the way we represent (frame) something,
we totally
change the meaning and the emotions associated with
that
experience. As a result, we change the decisions we
make and the
actions we take.

You must learn how to create resourceful meanings out
of every
experience. Successful leaders and entrepreneurs do
this to empower
themselves and others to reach their goals.