How intentional second looks can help
We frame all situations for the good or the bad. We can also reframe the same situation. The components of the situation remain, as parallel truths often in a paradoxical position. What does this look like? Reframing goes something like this:
Framed: She has lost all of her strength. She can’t work, can’t drive, can’t do much.
Reframed: While all of this may be true, she is entering a new treatment and she continues to make encouraging phone calls to “sick people.” Can you believe that? She is still thinking of others.
Framed: I lost my job. What are we going to do?
Reframed: You know, I’ve had this job for eight years, but I also have five months of savings, so I’m going to work as hard as I can to take my part time business to the next level.
Reframing is all about finding solutions when none seem obvious. Reframing requires conscious determination, intentional hope generation, and persistence. The truth is that we get knocked down sometimes. Things go wrong. And it causes our thoughts to enter a tailspin.
But, we’re not hopeless. With reframing, we remind ourselves of our better beliefs and then we act on them. The bitter truths still remain. And it is okay to be sad and mad. But if you find yourself getting stuck, consider reframing the situation.
Worth Repeating
Life often works out best for those who make the best of how life works out.
-Robert Fulghum
