Your Amazing Brain (Family Activity)

Objective: to teach kids how their brains work and how this knowledge can help them to feel happier and achieve more of what they want in life.


Today we're going to learn about the most amazing, most efficient, most high performing, most valuable tool on the planet.
What do you think it might be?

iPhone, space shuttle, computer? it's not any of those things, but it is something you possess.  You didn't pay a dollar for it, but it's worth an endless amount of money.

Your brains main job:

• Heavenly Father created each of us and gave us each a brain in order to become who he wants us to become.
• Your brain serves many functions but it's first and most important job is to make sure you don't die before your time.
• This is a useful thing but can cause problems if we don't pay attention.
• Your brain is like a monkey that sometimes worries about things that it doesn't need to worry about.

THE 1ST MAIN FUNCTION ON YOUR BRAIN - TO AVOID PAIN

• Your brain or the monkey in your brain is looking out for danger.  it doesn't know the difference between physical danger (this might hurt my body) or emotional damage (this might hurt my feelings).  Often this is just your brain noticing things it doesn't like

What are some things that your brain (your monkey) notices it doesn't like?

• because it is looking out for danger, it is easy to become negative.  There will always be things to notice that your brain doesn't like even though most of them are not really "dangerous" for us.  The monkey in your brain is always worried but he doesn't need to worry because everything is fine.  You are safe and loved and everything will be okay.
• The things you think about will determine how you feel.  You can decide to direct your brain to focus more on what it likes and what is good than on what it doesn't like and what is bad if you want to and you will feel happier.

What to do about it.  When you find yourself focusing on the negative.

1. Is this a useful thing to dislike?
2. Does it really matter?
3. Is it really that big of a problem?
4. Is there another way to think about this?
5. Is there something I could focus on that feels better?

2ND MAIN FUNCTION IS TO SEEK FUN

• your brain is very good at seeking things that are fun and exciting.  Your brain wants EVERYTHING to be fun and exciting.  This is why your brain loves TV, video games, candy, pizza and getting new things..etc..

What things does your brain love to get more of?

• When you get something new, your brain releases a chemical called dopamine which tells your brain this is good and fun and then it wants more, more, more.  (as soon as a monkey has a banana for a day it wants more another and another)
• The same is true when we eat sugar
• Or play video games
• Heavenly Father has given us commandments like the word of wisdom to help us moderate this part of the brain.  While having fun is a good part of life, too much of any of these things can cause problems for us.
• We've also been commanded to use our time in useful ways and to not value earthly possessions over more important things like relationships with people and serving God and our neighbors.

What to do about it..

1. decide ahead of time what the limit will be on things that your brain has a hard time limiting.
2. when your brain wants more than you've decided on, know that this is normal but you don't have to give in to it (or the monkey)

THE 3RD MAIN FUNCTION IS TO SAVE ENERGY

•  Your brain is the MOST efficient tool on the planet.  It wants to keep doing what it is already good at.
• Your brain believes that things that are unknown could be dangerous so it wants to avoid them to keep you alive.  Once again, we are not really in danger so you can tell your brain (the monkey) to just relax.
• This is why it can be scary to meet new people, try new things, or do anything that feels very overwhelming.

what to do about it..

1. Remind yourself that doing new things can be scary because your brain is operating perfectly.  Then do it anyway.

As a family decide on a DARE you want to take on during the week to show your brain that doing new things is nothing to worry about.  As you do things (make sure they are safe and appropriate) outside your comfort zone, you will gain confidence and tame the monkey in your brain.

examples: choose a funny word and use it in a conversation at school.  Talk to someone your age who you have never met before.  ask for a favor from someone.  Invite a friend to church.  Choose something you want to learn and do it.

Understanding your brain worksheet:

Think about your day today.  What parts of the day stand out the most to you?  Don't try to be selective.  Just see what your brain recalls most easily:

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Now take a look at what you wrote.  How many negative things does your brain recall?  How many of them are positive?  Circle the positive ones.  Remember that this is not right or wrong but it is good to gain some awareness of what your brain is doing.

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Now pick one negative thing that you wrote about and answer these questions: is this thing really a problem?  What is the worst thing that could happen?  If that happened what would I do?

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Now  choose one thing you wrote about that was positive.  how do you feel with your focus on this part of your day?  What if you decided to keep looking out for things you like about yourself, about life, about the people around you etc..?  What would be different for you if that was your main focus?

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When my monkey gets worried about things, I can remind him that:

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