Do you know someone who is always in crisis?

Many people live their lives worrying about the load of problems that besiege them. They bemoan their fate and wonder why fate dealt them so many difficulties. Even the most optimistic people can fall victim to this mode of thinking. If you enter this trap is there a way out?

According to Darius Foroux, there is a simple, yet powerful way to escape pessimistic thinking. In an article on his website titled The Reframing Theory: The Solution to 95% of Your Problems, Foroux shares how changing the appearance of perceived problems in your mind can lead to better outcomes. This steams from an understanding of how labels are applied.

You have a label for everything in your life.

• You are disciplined or undisciplined.
• Successful or unsuccessful.
• Healthy or unhealthy.
• Happy or not.

These are the mental labels we use in our minds. They sound like facts, but they’re not.

They’re interpretations. And interpretations can be changed.

So how can interpretations be changed? The answer is to reframe the issue. Instead of accepting the first impression of a situation, see if it can be viewed from a different perspective. Foroux suggests the following exercise:

Positive thinking asks you to pretend bad things are good.

Reframing asks something different. It asks you to find the most accurate and useful interpretation of a situation.

Not the most flattering one. The most functional one.

There’s a difference between lying to yourself and choosing a better lens.

As an example, Foroux envisions someone who feels undisciplined and is beating themselves up over it.

Old frame: I lack willpower. Something is wrong with me.

New frame: My goals aren’t aligned with who I actually am, what I actually want, or what my life actually allows right now.

The old frame offers no solutions other than to try harder.

The new frame provides a way to analysis one’s actions and recommit to the goals set. It might even show that the reason no action has been taken is that the goals have no value. Therefore, resetting the goals with ones that inspire and excite the mind will lead to effortless action.

To learn more about how to apply reframing to your life, please read the rest of the article.