When something happens to you, you make sense of the event by explaining it to yourself.
You act in the moment and make a decision based on the best available information that you have at the time.
However, as time goes by, you may get new information.
You may think differently about the event if you think about it again.
Reframing refers to the practice of looking at a past event or a past thought and finding new meaning.
Other words to use for reframing is:
To look again
To think again
To re-evaluate.
We illustrate this with an example:
Barry is in his car driving to work.
He enters the slipway onto the motorway.
The motorway is congested; there are many cars.
The cars coming off the slipway have to merge with the traffic on the motorway.
As he merges into the traffic, a driver blows his horn and sticks a middle finger out of the window.
Barry feels upset and disheartened.
Barry is in a low mood for the rest of the day.
That night, Barry practices conscious reflection.
He meditates on this event and seeks new meaning.
Barry finds that he has done nothing wrong as far as the road rules are concerned.
He comes to the conclusion that the other driver must have been feeling frustrated with the traffic congestion and may have had a little anger.
He determines that the circumstances surrounding this incident belongs to the other driver.
Barry determines that he should not feel upset or disheartened but rather sympathise with the other driver.
Barry has successfully reframed the explanation of this event.
Barry used conscious reflection to meditate on the event.
Barry has changed his understanding of this event and no longer feels upset or disheartened.
Doing the exercises on the website gives you a structured way to look at your past events to find new meaning.
Finding new meaning can change a negative explanation into a positive one.
Events happen and they may cause an emotion.
Often the emotion is unpleasant, such as:
Feeling hurt
Feeling abandoned
Feeling angry.
Reframing is the practice of looking at a past event critically to find new meaning.
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