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Reframing: the effect of changing perspective
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Change your frame and it changes
the context and meaning.
Reframing is a technique to change someone’s perspective or ‘frame’. Usually we want reframe a person from a negative outlook to a more positive one. For example, if your children complain that the assignment is too hard, reframe them, “It is challenging, which gives you an opportunity to apply your problem-solving skills.” Another way to reframe them is to use the word ‘but’ to negate the difficulty of the task: “It is rather hard, but this gives you an opportunity to apply your problem-solving skills.”[1]
Famous Examples
There are some famous examples of reframing. When Tomas Watson Jr. was CEO of IBM, one of his executives had made some bad decisions that cost the company millions of dollars. Upon entering Watson’s office, the executive proclaimed, “I suppose after that set of mistakes you will want to fire me.” Watson was said to have replied, “Not at all, young man, we have just spent a couple of million dollars educating you.”
Another famous quote is from Thomas Edison. When his factory burned down, he optimistically commented, “There is great value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew.”
[Fire you?] Not at all, young man, we have just spent a couple of million dollars educating you.
Summary
Things happen, and sometimes we can make amends and sometimes we cannot. Either way, it is important to take note of the learnings and move on. Reframes help us refocus from getting stuck on the past to working from the present towards the future.
References
Boese, E. S. "Do or do not - there is no try." (Sept 24, 2008). Succeed In Every Way. http://succeedineveryway.com/?p=31
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