If a little is good, a lot has to be better, right? Wrong! Want proof?
An Ambien might put you to sleep for the night. Six Ambien could result in a very long dirt nap!
Lifting weights can build muscle. Lifting too much weight can tear muscle.
A table spoon of castor oil is a laxative. A bottle of castor oil is a national security issue. I know! I drank a bottle as a child.
One final example……
Yesterday I spent the entire day at Disney World. That experience was not unlike drinking a bottle of caster oil.
How inspiring it was to see the excitement in the eyes of eager little children as they approached the park in the morning. How touching to see in the eyes of parents anticipation of a day of memories that would last forever.
Gulp!
By early afternoon on this 80-degree day, the same parents stumbled like zombies with no life in their eyes at all. They dragged, carried or pushed exhausted and screaming children from waiting line to waiting line and ride to ride “building memories.” I challenged my family to find a happy face and snap a picture. There were thousands of sleeping faces, angry faces, impatient faces, exhausted faces, only occasionally punctuated by a face that expressed the joy and anticipation of just a few hours before.
This is a classic symptom of overdose on food, candy, standing in the hot sun, tea cup rides, throwing up and having dozens of pictures taken with large rodents.
Don’t get me wrong. I love every ride and experience in this magical world, but Disney World must be experienced in reasonable bite size chunks rather than full day marathons. At the end of the day I watched lemming-like parents glance at each with sympathetic understanding. Hope had returned to their face as they headed for the exits and the peace and tranquility of nearby hotel. It really is a small world after all.
So here is my point. Whether you are taking your kids to Disney, embarking on an vacation, or tackling a new project, cut it into bite size chunks and attack it one chunk at a time.
Your mom told you to take small bites long ago for a purpose.
- She didn’t want you to burn out trying to live life all at once.
- She wanted you to enjoy the taste of life instead of swallowing it whole.
- She wanted you to smell the roses instead of going to your grave wondering, “What where those red things?”
- She wanted you to be able to accomplish big things.
- She wanted you to actually have some “good memories.”
- She wanted you to regulate your system without having to call a hazmat team.
The adventure of Disney is awesome if you leave time for rest and conversation. Several times I overheard parents saying something similar to this, “We paid a big price for this, were going to keep going until we get our moneys worth.” If Disney doesn’t have a plan that allows for the “bite-sized” experience, they should.
Even the biggest projects are possible when they are divided into manageable bites.
Whatever challenge or adventure looms in your future…… Chop it up! Chew it well! Get er done!
And for the sake of the environment and national security, stay away from the castor oil.
What was your Disney experience?
Do you tend to bite of more than you can chew?
Share your system of dividing projects into smaller bites
Comments
I’ve only been there as a child. There is no way on God’s green earth that I would take my children. Never mind the cost of bringing 6 kids to Disney, I’m pretty sure I would end up leaving most of them there. 🙂
https://forthisisthetime.com/
Esther, Thank you for the honesty. We had a friend who knew the ropes help us the second day. It was much better. She showed us fun games like flipping coins to see which child we would leave at the castle. (-;
Last night at dinner I told your wife that Todd and I go to Disney to relax. HA! For those who live close by, the secret to bite-size Disney is to buy an annual pass, only go for a few hours at a time and to stay away in the summer!! If you are not local, the secret to bite size is to 1) Know the limitations of everyone in your party. When someone is done, you need to be okay with them being done. Disney is VERY over-stimulating for both kids and adults. 2) Plan in advance what you are going to do that day and have one person who will take the lead and make decisions. 3) Fast pass one ride while you go on another/see a show/eat a meal! (This is where thinking ahead is really great!) 4) Know you will never, EVER see everything in your entire lifetime at Disney, let alone in one week. Be okay with that and “commit to relax”. =) There was a stat shared by a cast member on the tram the other day that it would take you 42 days straight from open to close to see/do EVERYTHING Disney World has to offer. Yes, you spent A LOT of money, but I think going into your vacation with low/realistic expectations of hitting your “must do’s” creates a great experience, where anything else you are able to do is just a bonus.
I live in ‘The Land Down Under’ so I’ve never been to Disney, but Dreamworld will still take a big chunk out of your enthusiasm reservoir.
You do make a very good point, but then, don’t you always.
This was my Disney experience…I visited my oldest son and his family in FL; when we got to Disney we decided to go on the boat tour of IT’S A SMALL WORLD… My son was pushing me in a wheelchair on the ramp; when the people ahead of us stopped; we stopped and I put the brake on. When others moved, I took the brake off and we moved forward. At one point there was a big space between us and the people in front of us, so I took the brake off…and flew down that ramp! I turned my head to scold my son for pushing me so fast and there he and his family stood back a ways looking over the railing! My grandson saw me and shouted, “DAD! DAD! GRAMMA IS MOVING!” They came running just as I smashed into the guardrail at the bottom of that ramp. Hey, you should have seen the looks on the faces of the people ahead of us as this elderly 210 lb woman came flying towards them in a wheelchair! I was shaken up but unhurt, and have lived to tell about it…and laugh too!
I loved what you said about Disney World. When my children were 3 and 5 we came back to America from serving 4 years overseas as missionaries in Jordan. We took the kids to Disney World we were first in line for the kids to meet Mickey and all the characters. My wife decided to let our daughter buy her one gift at the conviently located store next to the line. They took to long so my son and I had to get out if line and find them. I was not happy I said let’s just go to the next thing. I am stomping down happy Main Street USA. My wife just stops in the middle of the street and starts crying and through her sobbing she says “You are not making thus fun for me!” I am sorry a bit but still on a schedule she has already messed up and so I am making an attempt to get her going again without being real sympathetic or under standing. This was until my 5 year old son Caleb added his two cents into the mix. He said “Baba (Arabic for Daddy) you tell Mama your sorry!” From the mouths of Babes come wisdom. We now serve in Australia and now my kids are 15 and 17 and in 3 weeks we are taking them to The Great Barrier Reef I will try to take time to enjoy them and the great beauty of Gods Creation.