Reframing filters helps you create stronger connections, communicate better, and generate positive results

Filters are ideas/thoughts/perceptions that we form over time, and they are constantly affecting how we think about everything. Your mind is always working and always filtering the world. All of this thinking affects your attitude, your energy, your being, your presence—which in turn affects how you connect with someone—or disconnect from them—as a communicator and as a leader.

Whatever is in your head and your heart is projecting out to the world. So by understanding how you process the world and how your filters are affected in normal and stressful situations, you can start to regulate whether those are helping you to connect with somebody or if they’re creating a disconnect.

For example:

• Is there something you are doing (like body language, behavior, tone) that’s off-putting to the person you’re talking to?
• Is there something someone else is doing that’s off-putting to you?
• Are you jumping to conclusions that may not be true?

Once you can identify how your mindset and your filters influence your attitudes, choices and decisions, you can start to reframe them to become more effective.

Let’s reframe those inhibiting filters

Here’s a process to help you slow down your thinking, see the impact of your automatic responses, and begin reframing them to make more mindful, measured responses to create a different impact, especially as a leader.

• SEE IT. Last time, in this previous post , we asked you to identify one or more filters that are inhibiting your progress or success at work and why you think they’re blocking you.
• OWN IT. Thinking again about each one of those inhibitors:
  • Identify where it’s coming from. Why do you have it? Where did it originate?
  • How is this filter influencing your actions or inactions?
  • What is the “cost” of this if you don’t change your thinking? Will it keep you from having productive relationships? Will it cost the company more money? Will it cost you or your team more time? Will it hamper progress toward a goal?

You have to get to the core of why this filter is in play for you and keep asking yourself: “Why is this a problem for me? Why is this important for me to figure out?” You have to be able to create a NEED in order to change it, so keep asking yourself the WHY until you can find out the root cause. Once you figure that out, then you can own it!

• REFRAME IT. Analyze and dissect your thinking. Ask: “What if what I’m thinking isn’t true, isn’t valid, or isn’t valuable to me any longer?” Question your assumptions. The power of reframing is that it creates a new possibility out of something that was previously inhibiting you.
• CHANGE IT. Take away that filter to allow yourself to change your actions or inactions and have a noticeable impact. If you don’t change, you’re still letting that filter influence you. The change has to be real. You have to WANT to change it and COMMIT to change.

The hardest part is being willing and able to change.

Slowing down your split-second filters gives you space to think, and ultimately to act.

…Think about your team and how you are labeling them and how that affects your actions or inactions.

…Think about what would happen if you thought differently.

…Think about what that would do to your relationships and your abilities to communicate and lead effectively.

…Take action to make positive changes.

Think now about the filters that are inhibiting you. WHAT will you do differently to reframe them? HOW will you change them to get different results?