The technique of NLP Reframing helps people to understand how we limit ourselves by our beliefs. In the same way that a picture frame limits what we see and focus on in a picture, the frames of reference that we have limit our actions.
This can include:
- Our beliefs about ourselves and others
- Our perceived role in life
- Our perceived limitations in skills/abilities
We live in a world that sets boundaries in all sorts of ways - for example, timeframes - all of which limit what we can and can't do.
NLP Reframing works by changing the boundaries - changing the frame of an experience can have a major influence on how you perceive, interpret and react to it. For example, think how different you would feel if your boss told you that the project you thought was due next week was now due in an hour!
By helping someone to see their actions from a different perspective, and understand the potential impact of their beliefs, it is possible to give them more choice in how they react to various circumstances.
There are two basic forms of this - content and context. The first focuses on the content or meaning of a situation - what you choose to focus on will determine how you react to it. For example, if you are snowed in and can't get to work, is it a disaster because you have deadlines to meet, or a great opportunity to relax and recharge your batteries?
Turning to context allows us to realise that all behaviours are useful or appropriate in some context - if there is a behaviour that seems inappropriate, is there where this behaviour would be useful, or could be viewed as a resource?
