Do What We Want, Not What We Think We Should

To avoid lines at Disney one has the ability to sign-up for 3 Fast Passes. These passes are the equivalent of the Willy Wonka Golden Ticket, allowing you to skip waiting 2-3 hours in line. 

We found ourselves with one Fast Pass remaining. We checked the current ride wait times. 

The Jungle Cruise wait was 70 minutes, whereas the Barnstormer Roller Coaster and Winnie the Pooh ride each had ten-minute waits. My kids highly prefer both the Barnstormer and Winnie the Pooh rides over The Jungle Cruise, but my wife and I were conflicted. It seemed like such a waste of our last Fast Pass if we didn’t take the one with the most value in regards to waiting time (70 minutes for the  Jungle Cruise), but when we asked our kids, their answer was resounding—“Barnstormer!” 

It’s enlightening how often kids make better decisions than adults. Even though the rest of the Disney attendees valued the Jungle Cruise enough to wait 70 minutes, it didn’t matter. It wasn’t something my daughters valued. If the lines were equally long, my kids would pick Barnstormer over The Jungle Cruise. In this case, the Barnstormer line was 7 times shorter. It was really a simple decision that we as parents had made complex, and if we hadn’t asked the children, we would’ve made the wrong decision. 

One key aspect of focus is doing what we really want to do, not what we think we should do or what others are doing or what others value. Often this is difficult—especially for us identifying as chameleons—because it might be the opinion of someone we respect, such as a parent, brother, or mentor. But, we need to remind ourselves that it’s about what we value and what brings us joy.

For content like this and more, check out The Focus Project.

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