In Episode 53 of the 1life podcast, host Behka White introduces the concept of "reframing" as a Monday mindset. She shares a personal anecdote about a friend who reframed a stressful driving situation with humor, highlighting the power of perspective. Behka then outlines a three-step process for reframing negative thoughts:
- Catch it: Identify the negative thought.
- Check it: Challenge the thought's validity and explore alternative explanations.
- Change it: Replace the negative thought with a more positive or neutral one.
She encourages listeners to practice reframing as a way to improve their mindset and overall well-being.
Welcome to the One Life podcast with Becca White. I am your host and this is episode 53, the art of reframing. Several years ago, I was riding with a couple of my friends when another driver cut us off. Connie, who was driving our car, made some impressive evasive maneuvers and we continued safely on our journey. I was waiting for my friend's reaction, but there was none. I said, "Connie, hey, are you okay?" She said, "Oh, that? Oh, yeah, I'm fine." He was probably just practicing for the next Indy 500. I was confused. Then my other friend, Laura, piped up with, "No, I think she was late for her flying trapeze act and had to find the circus." They went back and forth for a few minutes with increasingly preposterous explanations until we were all laughing to tears. Laura explained that Connie does not get upset by other people's seemingly bad behavior. Instead, she creates alternate stories. "Often hilarious, Connie and Laura are two of my very favorite people and we can thank them for today's Monday mindset, which is the art of reframing. Just as a picture on the wall can look very different if we change the frame we hang it in, so can a situation look entirely different if we change our frame of mind." How do we do this? With a simple tool that I like to call the three Cs. The Cs stand for "catch it, check it, change it." To catch it, first of all, we have to identify our negative thoughts. Connie is so trained at this that she skips this part, but for me, in the backseat that day, I was thinking about how inconsiderate and dangerous the other driver was. The next thing is to check it. Then we have to check our thoughts for truth and error. A helpful question is, are there other explanations or alternative ways to look at the situation? The truth is that there are countless ways to look at every situation, so we might as well choose something that serves us instead of frustrates us. And then lastly, change it. Choose a more positive thought, or at least a neutral thought. This is the exciting part because here is where we get to use our creativity, whether it's the Indy 500 or the circus, the possibilities are really endless. So the Monday mindset invitation is to try out the art of reframing. "catch it, check it, and change it." Choose a frame of mind that serves you. We only get one life, let's make it our best.
