Reframing – How you change your view of the world with NLP

This podcast episode will actually change your brain structure – in the truest sense of the word. Because every time you look at something differently, new synapses connect in your brain. In this episode of the NLP Podcast by Stefan Landsiedel and Marian Sefferer you will learn how Reframing it works – the art of giving things a new frame, a new meaning. You will discover how you can change your emotions, your perception, and ultimately your life through conscious perspective shifts.

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What is Reframing?

“Reframing” means giving a situation, an event, or a feeling a new frame – that is, changing the meaning you give it. In NLP, it is understood that you consciously change the context or the evaluation of an experience. Because it is not what happens that determines your experience, but the meaning, that you give to the event.

Stefan illustrates it vividly with the image of a painting: The same picture looks completely different – depending on whether it has a simple wooden frame, a golden baroque frame, or a pink comic frame. Just like that, it is with your thoughts: You can decide in which frame you place them.

Everyday examples of Reframing

Reframing is not an abstract theory, but applicable everywhere in everyday life. Here are some simple examples:

• “I am too small.” → “I fit in every car, have more legroom on the plane, and often appear more likeable.”
• “It’s raining again.” → “The rain brings life, cleans the air – and the kids are happy to jump in puddles.”
• “I have a difficult neighbor.” → “I have the perfect opportunity to practice calmness.”
• “I was fired.” → “Maybe that was the push I needed to start something of my own.”

The content remains the same – but the frame in which you view it changes everything.

Profound Reframing – Turning Crises into Growth

Stefan shares a very personal experience in this episode: After a painful illness, he decided to see the pain not as a punishment, but as a growth task . The inner shift from “Why is this happening to me?” to “How can I grow from this?” changed everything.

This principle is also reflected in psychology – under the term post-traumatic growth. It describes that people often become stronger, clearer, and more resilient after severe crises than before. Viktor Frankl, who survived the concentration camp, put it this way: “Between stimulus and response lies the space. In this space lies our power to choose.”

Questions as the Key to Reframing

The simplest way to initiate a reframing is through questions. Questions direct your attention to new meanings and perspectives.

Examples of powerful reframing questions:

• What can I learn from this situation?
• What benefits could arise from this?
• How can I use this for myself right now?
• What would be funny about this situation if I viewed it from the outside?
• What is this good for?

Marian humorously adds his favorite question for difficult people: “Why did the universe send me this a…?” – a winking example of self-pacing that makes it easier to get into reframing.

Changing Inner Images

Reframing works not only through language but also through inner images. NLP utilizes the power of submodalities: brightness, size, distance, color, and movement of your inner images influence how you feel about something.

People with anxieties are often masters at creating intense images – they just use their imagination in an unfavorable direction. When you consciously control this ability, you can use it to generate courage, joy, or calmness. This is reframing on a visual level.

Context, Meaning, and Perception

Reframing also means changing the context in which you view something. A knife can hurt – or save lives when used as a scalpel. A person who arrives late can be seen as disrespectful – or as someone who wanted to ensure they didn't forget anything important. Meaning is always subjective and changeable.

Stefan puts it succinctly: “We construct our reality through meaning.” Once you learn to consciously shape meaning, you become the director of your own perception.

Forms of Reframing: Pre-, De-, and Reframing

NLP distinguishes different types of framing:

• Reframing – You give a new meaning to a situation that has already occurred (“The child fell into the well, but it learned to be more careful.”).
• Preframing – You shape the frame in advance to consciously influence a situation (“I am going into this conversation calmly, no matter what comes.”).
• Deframing – You take away the meaning of an event or belief (“Failure only exists if I stop trying.”).

These techniques are universal – they are used in coaching, psychotherapy, sales, management, education, and communication.

Conclusion: How to Use Reframing in Your Daily Life

Reframing is one of the most powerful tools of NLP. It changes how you think, feel, and act. You can apply it anytime – in difficult conversations, in stressful situations, in relationships, or simply when you want to realign yourself.

Always ask yourself: “What new frame can I give this situation?” – and you will notice how your thinking, your body, and your life change.

Tip: If you want to learn and practice reframing even deeper, you will find on the World of NLP platform many videos, demos, and exercises on it. You can numerous lectures and interviews with trainers and pioneers. The platform is your access to the modern NLP world – test the platform and get started right away.