Caution Implementing “Reframe Your Brain”

Important Public Service Announcement for those implementing reframes from Scott Adam’s book, “Reframe Your Brain.”

If you screw up a single word, like me, your results will end up 180 degrees in the wrong direction.

Let me explain.

I gravitated towards the reframe, “Looks like we have a puzzle to solve”, because between family, friends, and coworkers, people seem to like dumping their problems on me. Not a day passes someone, somewhere, is complaining about something to me.

I started responding with the reframe, “Looks like we have a problem to solve.” Did you see my mistake? I had used the word ‘problem’ instead of ‘puzzle’ This only amplified their angst. As you might imagine, this made those conversations worse. People focused on ‘problems’. And boy do they have a lot of them. The complaining increased exponentially.

I thought to myself this isn’t possible. Everything I’ve learned from Scott has worked like charm. Luckily I caught my mistake early and began replacing ‘problem’ with the correct word ‘puzzle’. The results were astonishing. And yes, I know my story is anecdotal, but still, my God — the change was dramatic.

I immediately saw people lighten up when using the word ‘puzzle’. Time and again they would approach their ‘problem’ with a newly relaxed attitude — sometimes even exhaling a breath of relief — after I started using the reframe correctly.

You don’t have to believe it. I’m living it. Just remember, Scott’s book is a powerful tool. Make sure you use it correctly.