My Day Is Ruined! A Story for Teaching Flexible Thinking

by Bryan Smith

Summary

When the championship baseball game gets rained out, ballplayer Braden curls up on the couch and cries. Just another one of his overreactions. Braden always lets small disappointments ruin his day, so his mom and teacher give him a lesson on “flexible thinking”. Will this help Braden feel better when disappointment comes his way?

Questions

1) (page 10) Can you think of a time when it would be a good and necessary time to use flexible thinking?

2) (page 11) What does ‘stretch your brain’ really mean? Have you ever tried it?

3) (page 14) Take a look at the four steps to flexible thinking on that page. Which one of those steps is usually the hardest for you?

3) (page 18) What are some things in life that you can control? What are some of the things that are out of your control?

4) (pages 6 & 27) Do you think those people really had their day ruined just from what had happened? How do you think they were feeling to get to consider their day ruined?

5) Check out the tips for educators on page 31.