A few hours ago, basketball superstar Caitlin Clark shared bad news with fans across the globe: She won’t be returning to basketball this season.
Clark suffered a groin injury almost two months ago, shortly before the WNBA All Star Game. While she remained hopeful, and spent hours in the gym in an effort to return, the end decision was to pull back.
“Disappointed isn’t a big enough word to describe how I’m feeling,” Clark wrote on Instagram.
Clark then said the following:
“This has been incredibly frustrating, but even in the bad, there is good. The way the fans continued to show up for me, and for the Fever, brought me so much joy and important perspective. I am so proud of how this team has only gotten stronger through adversity this year.”
“Even in the bad, there is good.”
With those seven words, Clark teaches an important lesson in emotional intelligence, the ability to understand and manage emotions. Specifically, this is an example of what is known in psychology as cognitive reframing.
What is reframing, and why is it so valuable? Most important, how can you use it to your own benefit? Let’s take a closer look at this powerful tool, see how Clark is using it, and analyze the takeaways for you. (Sign up here for my free email emotional intelligence course.)
What is reframing?
According to the American Psychological Association, to reframe is to reconceptualize a problem by seeing it from a different perspective.
“Altering the conceptual or emotional context of a problem often serves to alter perceptions of the problem’s difficulty and to open up possibilities for solving it,” says the APA.
Reframing is valuable because everyone suffers setbacks, sometimes significant ones. When you do, it’s easy to get caught in a flurry of negative thoughts and emotions. Not only can this adversely affect your mental health, it can also keep you from progressing.
But reframing helps you control your thoughts, which, in turn, helps you manage your emotions. It helps you build resilience, the ability to fight through challenges, bounce back, and move forward.
In her Instagram post, Clark used words like “frustrating” and “disappointed.” Feelings like this, if allowed to run wild, could cause Clark to give up on her rehab, at least temporarily. They might cause her to isolate herself from others. Or they could even cause her to rush her return, leading to an even more significant or permanent injury.
Instead, by looking for the good in a bad situation, Clark reframes it.
“The way the fans continued to show up for me, and for the Fever, brought me so much joy and important perspective,” Clark says. “I am so proud of how this team has only gotten stronger through adversity this year.”
Reframing in this way helps Clark shift her perspective from frustration and disappointment to gratitude and joy. Instead of isolating herself, she strengthens the connections between herself and her team, and her fans.
And instead of focusing on the present difficulty, she looks ahead. After all, if the Indiana Fever can make the playoffs without their key facilitator (and one of their best players), imagine how much stronger they’ll be when she returns.
How can you use reframing for your benefit?
I know what you’re thinking: Reframing sounds easy. Anyone can do it.
But here’s the thing: We don’t.
In my experience working with leaders, I find that, while some tend to naturally reframe, many don’t. And even for those who do, there are always situations and circumstances that make it difficult for them to do so.
The good news is, there are techniques to help you reframe when you need it most. One uses a tool I like to call “the rule of reframing.”
The rule of reframing involves using questions to break the cycle of negative thoughts. If you suffer a major setback, ask yourself questions like:
- How serious is this? How will I feel about it in five weeks, five months, five years, or even 50 years?
- Although this situation is not ideal, what good things have come (or could come) out of the bad?
- What aspects of this situation are in my control? What aspects are out of my control? How can I focus on the former, and not the latter?
- How can I use the difficulty?
Questions like these are helpful because, while you have little control over instinctive thoughts, you can control how long you dwell on those thoughts, and you have the ability to change those thoughts. In doing so, you’ll also manage your emotions.
So, the next time you suffer a setback, take a page out of Caitlin Clark’s playbook and remind yourself: Even in the bad, there is good.
Because setbacks don’t mean failure. Sometimes, they can even lead to bigger and better things.
— By Justin Bariso
This article originally appeared on Fast Company‘s sister publication, Inc.
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