Reframing your language – what does this mean?
I was unaware of the term ‘reframing your language’, or the requirement to reframe language as a personal development tool until I attended some NLP™ (Neuro-Linguistic Programming™) training.
Language can be stored in our inner world, or subconscious, as somatic whole forms, meaning, not just what we say, but what we think, hear, feel sense and know at the time.
In short, words can activate multi-dimensional sensory states, affecting our whole body chemistry.
Remember a happy memory, smell, feeling, day or time in your life
Learning to reframe your words can help you switch to somatic states of awareness that serve you better.
Does the smell of something bring back a happy feeling for you (some smells, of course, might make you recoil if there is an uncomfortable association).
For me, the smell of cut grass is a happy thing. It means summer days, tennis on the lawn and brings back memories of having raspberries for tea from the garden.
Perhaps when you hear a particular musical track, it brings back a happy time.
Or you might enjoy a sport or dance which represents ‘glory days’ for you.
Reframing your language can do this too.
Reframing your language and endorphins
Changing our language might seem like a lot of work.
I remember feeling that way on the NLP™ course and also having feelings of not being good enough coming up from my inner world when this concept was presented to me.
I had always been proud of my language skills and had enjoyed language and literature at school. I also found that writing came easily to me.
That was my ego talking, however, and was not the point of the training.
[click_to_tweet tweet=”The point was – more positive ways of reframing your language can create more positive states – quite literally, change the body and mind feel. #nlp #language #personalgrowth” quote=”The point was – more positive ways of reframing your language can create more positive states – quite literally, change the body and mind feel.”]In our high-stress society, this has to be a good thing.
Some excellent examples of reframing your language
Recently on Twitter, I saw this tweet about 9 things to quit.
9 Things to quit:
1. Trying to please everyone
2. Fearing change
3. Living in the past
4. Overthinking
5. Being afraid to be different
6. Beating yourself up over mistakes
7. Sacrificing your happiness for others
8. Thinking you’re not good enough
9. Thinking you have no purpose— Mindfulness Wellness (@HealingMB) November 18, 2018
The intention of the above tweet is very powerful, having us consider practices of thinking, feeling, and acting in ways that do not serve us so that we can release those practices and change our inner world for the better.
Here are some ways to reframe the language of the tweet to make it even more powerful.
Reframing your language – how to do it
The simplest way to reframe is to switch a sentence from something that feels heavy in the body to something that feels lighter.
Trying to please everyone
(draining, hard to do, ‘there is no try’) becomes…
Learning to please yourself
No. 2…
Fearing change
can become
Accepting change
We could play with this a little more
Embracing change
Or find a saying (one of my favorites)
Change is here to stay.
Free printable exercise
If the idea of reframing your language resonates for you, here’s a free printable to help you complete the exercise>>Reframing your language
Until next time!