What gets you through another day when your brain seems to shout back, “I can’t go on!” What makes life worth your effort, when lofty plans get pierced with unexpected pain? Do you nudge the dial toward, I’ll go on? Or do you default to capricious choices that evaporate your dreams and determine, I can’t go on!
The best choice is rarely simple. Whenever you come to that moment in life where you add another action into the ledger that illustrates an account of your best self, that moment is the right time to make the best choice. A choice that leaves you and those around you blessed and gratified — that choice is an enormous thing.
Look into a biography, such as Kalanithi’s When Breath Becomes Air, and you’ll come away convinced that choice rather than tragedy determines your brain’s ability to benefit from whatever challenges or cheer you’ve been given.
Dr. Paul Kananthi chose to live each day with the singular focus on building a life worth living, after his diagnosis of terminal cancer. Even near the end of this young doctor’s agonizing slide toward death’s harbinger, his top priority persisted – to preserve mental acuity as long as possible. I’d add spiritual vision in gratitude for agape love’s lived fluidity over a lifetime. Care to play a brain game that boosts your best choices?
Biographies such as When Breath Becomes Air, open conversations for mental choices to –
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Live or languish…
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Smile or sneer …
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Reboot or retreat …
Why then do we hear that teens increasingly choose suicide when they could learn how to choose security in response to challenges? If you wish to teach choice through best selling biographies such as, When Breath Becomes Air, or through original readings that interest teens you’ll find student-ready materials in this newly updated guide to choices through non-fiction tasks, or other active tasks on my TpT site.
Imagine how you would make similar or different choices in a text you read and share the results you could expect.
For instance in the book, When Breath Becomes Air, author Paul Kalanith chooses to deny his cancer evidence at first. (See P. 4) Similarly, fear initially shaped Paul’s choice not to share horrific details or scary emotions with Lucy. The results? In both cases – choice impacted Paul negatively until he made another choice to go for therapy together with Lucy. What choice will you make today that will direct your brain to increase your well being?
Looking for study guide materials that teach brain based choices in the bibliography, When Breath Becomes Air, and in any lesson today?
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Created by Ellen Weber, Brain Based Tasks for Growth Mindset