The overall thread I seem to be following today is about reframing.
I subscribe to Ozan Varol’s newsletter, and yesterday, he had a profound message that I think I will find ways to incorporate into my personal and business life. He said, “Instead of asking ‘What do you want to do?’, we now ask ‘How do you want to feel?” This can be impactful in so many ways.
I mentioned it to Damien, and he said it reminded him of something a marketing person he follows does—every time he creates something for his audience, he starts with which of the emotions he wants his audience to feel (happy, sad, surprised, angry, etc.). So, rather than just starting with whatever random message you want to get across, you take the time to think about how you want your audience to feel after interacting with your content. This emotional connection with your audience will have much greater engagement than just the same bland content everyone else uses.
On a personal level, using the “How do I want to feel?” question when making a decision changes my entire view of the decision-making process. It turns it from an outcome of results to an outcome of feeling and fulfillment. Rather than just saying, “I want to watch TV,” which would mean any show/movie would suffice, I would say, “I want to feel inspired,” which would lead me to something more specific and fulfilling, like a documentary about animals (sidebar: I could watch anything about any kind of animal all day long) or a business show like The Profit (if you have not watched this show, go find it and watch it—full of amazing business insights!).
The other reframing piece comes from Effortless, where McKeown suggests taking the idea of “This is too hard/too much work/too overwhelming/too yuck” to one of “What if this could be easy?” and “How can I make this enjoyable?” It is so fascinating how just a simple reframe can have a huge impact on the things we do. Just changing the thoughts we say to ourselves (either out loud or in our heads) about how we feel about a task can change the outcome.
Finding ways to make the essential but tedious tasks more enjoyable is going to become a new game of mine. One of the ways I already do this is by listening to audiobooks or talking with family members while I’m on a long drive by myself. Using the question “What if this could be easy?” will definitely be something I plan to incorporate into our business when we are tackling new issues. Damien and I have been using Edward De Bono’s recommendation of lateral thinking for a while now, and adding this question, I think is just the next level to that. Can’t wait to try it out!
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