SEIZE THE DAY

This blog was inspired by two sporting events from this weekend - one you'll know all about and the other a very personal one.

I'm sure you'll all have heard by now of the collapse of Fabrice Muamba, the Bolton footballer during Saturday's FA Cup match against Spurs. My partner and our younger son were at the game and were part of the shocked crowd who saw the fit 23 year old athlete collapse without warning. After on pitch resuscitation and the efforts of medical staff he was taken to intensive care and at the time of writing remains in a critical condition in hospital.

On Sunday our 16 year old son was playing rugby for his club. Halfway through the second half he was knocked backwards in a tackle, striking his head hard against the ground and injuring his neck. As the team medic I was responsible for immobilising his neck until the ambulance arrived. We then spent the afternoon in our local casualty department. Thank God his Xrays were all fine and he was able to be discharged. He is very stiff and sore but no serious harm has been done. It could so easily have been different. The NHS did a wonderful job to give Fabrice a fighting chance and to look after my son so well - thank you.

Both incidents have really serve to illustrate how our lives really do hang by a thread. One moment things are going along just fine and the next........

All the more reason to seize the day - carpe diem. Living in the here and now and truly appreciating all the wonderful gifts that we have seems all the more important when things like this happen. There are so many other things to appreciate and be thankful for too. Fabrice Muamba's tragedy has unified fans across the country and indeed the world. Sometimes it takes something to go wrong for people to show their true colours but I truly believe there is so much goodness out there in the world if only we know where to look for it.
Michelle

FRAMING & REFRAMING

I wrote this yesterday whilst waiting for the start of the Six Nations Rugby match France v Ireland. I've just seen Declan Kidney, the Irish coach interviewed and asked how he feels about Ireland's very poor record against the French in Paris. Instead of being intimidated, he saw it as a challenge - "Irish wins here are rare but what's rare is highly-prized." That's a great example of a reframe. Despite that, being an England fan I couldn't show anything other than an English ball now could I?

Framing in NLP terms really means setting the scene. Putting a frame around something means outlining what's going to happen so that your unconscious mind knows what's going on. It also sets the tone of what's coming next. Sometimes it's helpful to change this tone - that's what is called a re-frame.

This week's video is about framing & reframing and you can view it here.
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In it I discuss and example of using a reframe in a consultation situation. I do that a lot, it's a really helpful technique to use. There is nearly always a positive way that you can turn a situation around by suggesting a different way to look at it - by giving it a different frame. Maybe someone is coming back to see you to talk about weight loss. Perhaps they intended to lose half a stone in the month since their last visit and they've only lost 4lbs. Rather than see this as a failure, stressing that they have done well and that if they keep doing what they are doing they are going to get to their goal will be much more likely to keep them motivated.

Look for the positives in every situation - there is almost always something to find. Have fun noticing them and thinking about how to use them to motivate yourself and others.
Michelle