How does it feel when you encounter a barrier?
It depends.
Sometimes it feels like running into a brick wall at full speed. It hurts like hell.
Other times it feels like being caught up in quick sand.
In any case, whether you’re frozen or fragged — you’re stuck.
You’re not doing what you want to do. Going where you want to go. Being what you want to be.
Some barriers need specific solutions. But, many barriers yield to some ‘generic’ remedies.
One such Over-The-Counter remedy is Reframing.
Reframing is essentially about looking at the ‘problem’, the barrier in a different way. For more on reframing see Wikipedia
How do you do that?
Here’s an example: I don’t have enough time to write.
What’s the barrier? Not enough time.
How could you reframe that?
You could ask: "Who says there’s not enough time?’ Or, "What does enough time look like?" Or, "How can I create more time?"
In other words, you try to shake up the suppositions about the problem.
How else could you look at this problem differently?
How about having a dialogue with the problem? This is a particularly nifty intervention for a writer. Write the dialogue between you and the problem. What do you learn from it.
Or, move inside the problem. Become the problem. What does the problem feel? What makes it grow? Shrink? Change colour?
Again, reframing is about seeing, experiencing the problem differently.
HOMEWORK: Pick a barrier that’s stopping you. Grab a small one. And, try one of more of these reframing strategies. See what you learn about the problem and how to get around it.
