Keeping a Positive Outlook – You may have heard of the saying ‘looking through rose-tinted glasses” – it means taking an optimistic, cheerful view of something. A statement that may be easier to overcome for some, than others.
We are all individuals and don’t always wake up with a spring in our step. Some days can be more positive than others and that is completely understandable. This can be down to numerous, everyday circumstances, our routine, our family, our home but could also be our outlook on situations and the way we view them which will ultimately reflect upon the outcome of the mood of the day.
Reframing or cognitive reframing is a technique used in therapy to help create a different way of looking at a situation, person, or relationship by changing its meaning from one angle to another improving your mental health. The essential idea is that a person’s point-of-view depends on the frame it is viewed in. When the frame is shifted, the meaning changes and thinking, and behaviour often change along with it.
To reinforce this, reframing requires seeing something in a new way, in a context that allows us to recognize and appreciate positive aspects of our situation. This is achieved by flipping negative and daunting phrases around in your mind to give you a different perspective on situations.
Having a more positive outlook can help you get past a problem, your stuck on, find solutions more quickly, stop negative thoughts and reverse unhelpful feelings which will benefit you and everyone around you.
Reframing helps us to use whatever life hands us as opportunities to be taken advantage of, rather than problems to be avoided. Breakdowns are transformed into challenges and new possibilities to experience life more fully and to become a more whole human being.
Another way to understand the concept of reframing is to imagine looking through the frame of a camera lens. The picture seen through the lens can be changed to a view that is closer or further away. By slightly changing what is seen in the camera, the picture is both viewed and experienced differently. For example, you look outside, and it is raining, you may be thinking this is an awful day, it’s not worth getting out of bed. For a positive slant, you could be thinking this will help the plants and flowers grow giving me an improved view from my window.
As we shift our thinking about our situation, there is a change in emotional tone and the meaning that we give to our life circumstances. We can choose to move our experience from a negative frame to a more hopeful one, filled with opportunities. This process allows us an expanded view of our reality.
Lilly Light