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Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Re-Visiting Re-Framing

Although I can be as egotistical as the next person, it's still not unusual for me to sometimes use unflattering words when describing myself to others. Any of you share the latter tendency with me?

If yes, have you noticed how others can sometimes can help you re-frame some of your harsh self-descriptions? I was recently speaking to someone about the many vessels I use to capture impressions of the world and my experiences - my regular journal, my book journal, my movie log, etc. Before I had a chance to call myself obsessive - my default description of this harmless habit - she used the term "historian". I was initially taken aback. But within weeks, I began re-framing using her word instead of mine.

This historian has since jotted down several other unflattering self-descriptions and set to work re-framing each. Navel gazer = introspective or cerebral. Picky = selective. Cautious = deliberate. There's more. Which words or expressions do you sometimes use to describe yourself that would benefit from re-framing?

Arguably, the more important work is re-framing the way I sometimes describe others. In another recent conversation, someone else gently suggested my use of "unsavory" - discussing a third person we both know - could be re-framed to "colorful". After more talking, the two of us settled on "eccentric".

1 comment:

  1. It seems to me that "re-framing" is just an exercise in selecting a word with a positive connotation to replace a negative one.

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