Mind Over Emotion

GOOD SELF-CONTROL (Section #3) – Week 1 –
Instructor’s Script

Start the lesson by gathering your students into a tight huddle and ask these three questions:

What does it mean to have self-control?
Why is it important to have self-control?
Can you give me an example of having self-control?

Then share the following story or lesson and ask the questions listed.

This week we are going to talk about what we can do with our mind when we become angry or afraid?

Is anger good or bad?
It depends on if you control it or it controls you.

Is being afraid good or bad?
Sometime it is good; sometimes it is bad, depending on the situation.

Fear and Anger are two emotions that sometimes get us into trouble if we let them run wild and don’t control them. On the other hand, these two emotions can greatly benefit us if we use them the right way.

Can you think of a way that fear can help you? (Let the kids participate in the discussion and conclude it by saying fear keeps you from doing foolish things like running across a busy street, climbing a tree on a windy day, or jumping off a cliff.

Can you think of a way that anger can help you? Let the kids participate in the discussion and conclude it by saying anger can get you to take action): “Darn it, I can’t stand this dirty room, I’m going to clean it right now.”… “This report card makes me mad, I am going to study harder.”

Some things we can do to improve our self-control are:
View poor self-control in yourself and others as a sign of weakness. If you get into a habit of this, you will see how people who get overly emotional usually make bad decisions compared to someone who responds calmly. For example, do you think that another child is mature or childish when he looses control and has a temper tantrum?

“Stop the monster when it’s young.” The next time that you feel you are starting to lose your temper, stop whatever you are thinking about and try to view things from someone else's viewpoint.

Example #1 - Your friend just took a toy that you were playing with - right out of your hand!

Possible Response - Before you yell at him, think to yourself, “That toy isn’t worth fighting over. I’ll just calmly ask him to give it back and remind him to ask first next time.”