Much of the work I do with my clients is helping them to find ways of transforming their limiting beliefs into possibilities and opportunities for alternative action. In order to do that I encourage them to visualise their mindsets as framed pictures.
Think of a mindset as a thought constrained within a fixed area that holds it in place, like a picture held in place by its frame. I say ‘constrained’ because that is what happens; the thought is tied by its limiting belief – a belief that may not be true which nevertheless, we hang on to, like a safety net.
Here’s an example using the picture metaphor.
Some months ago, I bought a rather striking oil painting. It was frameless when I saw it, so I asked the gallery owner whether he would get it framed for me. About ten days later it was delivered in a dark maroon-painted wooden frame. Nice frame but the colour deadened the painting. So, I asked for the colour to be changed to a rich shade of green, which would brighten it up and bring out the green in the painting.
When it was returned, it was, of course, the same painting; but the green coloured frame had transformed it!
So, by reframing your mindset – shifting your perception of it – it can be re-jigged, transformed. To build on the metaphor, you could try different sized or shaped frames (round, oval, star shaped); or you could change the colour of the frame; and is it plain or ornate, for instance?
It’s exactly the same idea as reframing a favourite picture: change the frame and the picture takes on a different appearance.
Reframing a mindset can have an unexpectedly transformational impact on an individual’s life, indeed it can be a life changing experience; and a transformed mindset in an organisation – organisations have mindsets too – can significantly affect staff morale and performance.
It’s as simple as reframing!
We all have mindsets, negative (the majority) and positive, useful ones and less useful ones. Negative mindsets inhibit growth, block change and stall self-development.
Author of the book Mindset, Dr Carol S. Dweck, has conducted ground-breaking research on what she names Fixed Mindsets and Growth Mindsets. She demonstrated that we all have Fixed Mindsets, believing that we only have a limited number of skills and abilities and that it’s not really possible to expand beyond these; and Growth Mindsets, which allow for skills and abilities to grow with practice and focus. What made her findings ground breaking was the evidence that Fixed Mindsets can transform to become Growth Mindsets.
Reframing is one way of achieving that transformation.
The difficulty we often face is our resistance to change. We naturally prefer to hang on to the familiar, feeling safer that way. We like to stick with what we know, that to which we are habituated: the comfortable. We establish patterns of behaviour that get us through life and because they seem reasonably successful, we repeat the patterns time and time again. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
Some of those patterns clearly work (not stepping out in front of a bus for instance, staying away from flames, avoiding dangerous situations) because they protect us. But if an unhelpful pattern becomes an entrenched belief, such as ‘I am not good enough’, it will frustrate and disempower its thinker.
Call to action: get in touch with me and let me help you transform those Fixed Mindsets so that you can grow beyond your old habits and find your way to fulfilment.
“Helen Guinness is an international, transformational coach and an avid art lover. In fact, when you see her living room, most of her wall space is taken up by framed art-work. This love of creating, painting and displaying artwork, including her own, has led to a rather nifty tip that she has used with her coaching clients to help them see and realise radical shifts in their thinking. Helen literally invites clients to envisage the issue surrounded by different styles, shapes and colours of frame. Helen says that this changes the relationships and interpretation of the same issue or picture for her clients. What’s more, she says that if we move the frame over the canvas of our mind’s eye, we can gain greater focus and clarity, as well as perspective on our problems, challenges and goals.”
Dr Iain Price – Founding Director, Think It Out Ltd
