Reframing is a word that is becoming more and more utilised in every day language - but for a very different reason. What exactly is reframing and why can it be so brilliantly helpful?
The definition of to ‘reframe’ is to put a different interpretation onto a situation or event by either changing its meaning or its context.
A bad swing of a golf club may result in a player becoming quite irate in the immediate aftermath. If, however, the player was to appraise the importance of that ONE shot within the context of their whole round, the moment seems trivial.
By reframing situations or events when they occur, we can both expand our perception and horizons as well as become more resourceful. With the mind, we can use both a context reframe and/or a content reframe.
When you think about it, most behaviours are useful in some context.
Context Reframe
Rain can often be a disaster from a sporting perspective but it can mean salvation for a farmer in Africa. Therefore, rain is neither good nor bad, it is only the context in which it occurs on which a value judgement is made.
Context reframing can be used to change a person’s negative internal response to a particular behaviour or situation by realising its usefulness in another context.
Always ask, “In what context could this scenario be an advantage?”
Content Reframe
Instead of worrying about the heavy conditions due to overnight rain at the golf course, rejoice in the fact that the greens will be receptive to your approach shots.
Content Reframing involves giving a different meaning to something by changing the perspective or intent.
Always ask yourself, “What else could this mean?”, “What would I like this to mean?”, “How could this be positive?”
———————————————————————————————————————————
One area I want to look at today is stress and how we can use reframing to turn our stress into productivity.
Stress is an everyday occurrence. It attacks everyone and can be relentless. Most of us see it as something we can’t control or worse still, something we should try and bury or ignore.
Stress affects us in different ways and at different times. One of the most common situations encountered is right before a big performance - a speech, a presentation, or playing sports.
Pre-performance stress is real and it can kill our ability to act.
Thankfully, due to new research into how our brains handle stress, this doesn’t have to be.
When our brains feel stressed, they release a chemical called noradrenaline. Noradrenalin is strange in that it is both amazing for us and terrible for us. It increases arousal and alertness, promotes vigilance, enhances retrieval of memory and focuses attention, whilst also increasing restlessness and anxiety.
We don’t function well with either too much or too little of this chemical but according to Ian Robertson, a cognitive neuroscientist at Trinity College Dublin, “there’s a sweet spot in the middle where if you have just the right amount, then the goldilocks zone of noradrenaline can act like the best brain tuner.”
All this means that so long as we find ways to control and handle stress emotionally, it can be an incredible way to boost brain function, increase creativity and ultimately make us happier, less anxious and less depressed.
So, how do we change the way we deal with stressful situations in order to use them to our advantage instead of crippling us with anxiety? This is where our reframing skills come in!
Many symptoms of stress and anxiety are the same as those of excitement. Perverse, right? Studies have found that when people are put in stressful situations such as public speaking or singing karaoke, telling yourself to calm down can actually backfire.
Instead, those who reframe the situation as exciting and a great challenge are better equipped to handle it.
When we feel anxious before a meeting, talk to someone we revere or put on a sporting display, anxiety can drain working memory, decrease self-confidence and harm our overall performance. Knowing that this is our ‘usual’ reaction makes matters even worse. The anticipation of anxiety makes us think of acting out the opposite: stay calm.
When Alison Wood Brooks, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School, began looking at how we react to the idea of stress, she found that people who reframed their anxiety as excitement performed better than those who tried to bury it with calmness.
Both stress and excitement are characterised by high arousal levels and a low sense of control.
Another way to look at this is as either a ‘growth’ or ‘fixed’ mindset, which basically means that those who believe they can change, do.
With a fixed mindset, you believe that the things happening to you or the way you feel can’t be changed. This fatalistic approach holds you back from being able to change the way you see a situation.
People with a growth mindset see potential failure as a chance to learn. They’re the ones who can turn stress into excitement and find that sweet spot where stress actually enhances performance.
Consider for a moment comedians or performers who worry if they DON’T feel that ‘edge’ of anxiety before a big performance. Tiger Woods once famously said that if he doesn’t feel anxious before a tournament, then he’ll perform badly. This goes for many athletes and I’m certain that all of you sports men and women out there would attest to the same.
With the right mindset, stress can indeed be a performance enhancer.
A Game Changer says…
At some stage in our lives we’ve all felt those situations where negative and unproductive thoughts, stress and anxiety just won’t leave us alone.
Each ‘thought’ is a complex pattern of activity and neural connections in our brain. The more we have a thought, the stronger the mental connection and ‘reality’ becomes.
There is a saying, “the more you ski down a path, the easier it is to go down that path and not another.”
So, like the fixed mindset described earlier, the more you react to stress with anxiety, self-doubt and fear, the more likely you’ll be to feel the same way in a similar situation. Fortunately psychologists have found a fix. It’s called ‘cognitive reappraisal’ or in simpler terms reframing.
Cognitive reappraisal isn’t about turning off your negative thoughts because as anyone who works in the field of mental health will tell you, that’s impossible. The aim is to step back and ground your thoughts in reality. Observe yourself from the third person.
One successful way to do this, is to write down your thoughts and identify what triggered them. Challenge your assumptions. Ask those reframe questions listed earlier in this article.
Chances are that when your start to dissect the scenario/situation, you won’t have grounds to support those initial feelings.
Writing strengthens memory and the more you commit to reframing doubt into positivity, then the more positive and assured you will feel.
Another way is to take your emotional responses to the extreme. For example, if someone tells you that your performance was terrible, start telling yourself that it was the worst of all time, in fact nobody has ever been worse than you and you’re lucky they don’t lock you away!
Steve Orma, a clinical psychologist and author of Stop Worrying and Go To Sleep says, “You’re going for laughter.” The laughter will make you feel better and help highlight the absurdity of your negative thoughts.
Finally, if you want to get in shape, it takes more than one monster session in the gym. Your brain is no different. Learning to reframe how you handle situations or events and turn stress and self-doubt into Red Bull for your productivity and happiness takes time but not that much.
According to the Wall Street Journal, a 2014 study in Behavioural Research and Therapy showed that people who considered and practised cognitive reappraisal were able to significantly reduce their negative emotions in just 16 weeks. Four months to a better, happier and more productive you!
All it takes is a little perspective.