Reframing

Reframing is when we see something in life from a different viewpoint, different context or different meaning.  We tend to see our problems only from a certain framework.  Counselors who use reframing, help shift the client's attention to how the see things.

There is an old Chinese story that tells of a farmer in a poor country village. He was considered very well-to-do, because he owned a horse which he used for plowing and for transportation. One day his horse ran away. All his neighbors exclaimed how terrible this was, but the farmer simply said "Maybe." A few days later the horse returned and brought two wild horses with it. The neighbors all rejoiced at his good fortune, but the farmer just said "Maybe."  The next day the farmer's son tried to ride one of the wild horses; the horse threw him and broke his leg. The neighbors  all offered their sympathy for his misfortune, but the farmer again said "Maybe."  The next week conscription officers came to the village to take young men for the army.  They rejected the farmer's son because of his broken leg. When the neighbors told him how lucky he was, the farmer replied   "Maybe.''' . . .

How much of how we see things affects how mood.  It would be difficult to measure exactly, but I bet that there is a lot of us are anxious and depressed that would feel a lot better if we could "reframe" how we see things.