{"id":12831,"date":"2024-01-25T12:00:51","date_gmt":"2024-01-25T20:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sanpedrotoday.com\/?p=12831"},"modified":"2024-01-26T19:08:14","modified_gmt":"2024-01-27T03:08:14","slug":"the-cotton-candy-effect","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sanpedrotoday.com\/2024\/01\/25\/the-cotton-candy-effect\/","title":{"rendered":"The Cotton Candy Effect"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><span style=\"color: #1daeec;\">A new year always makes me feel like I have another chance to make a difference, discover a new place to visit, accomplish a new goal, or just finish one that carried over from the prior year.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>One such goal is to finish writing the book about my father, <i>Apricots and Figs<\/i>.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Just when I thought it was complete, a professional writer asked me, \u201cWhat about your part of the story? You have to add that in.\u201d I finished writing the stories my father shared over the years and wanted to get the book published, but I agreed to include growing up as an immigrant\u2019s son, which might resonate with others. That decision took all of 2023 to complete.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Now, I am combing through the book\u2019s first draft, hoping to have it published this year, one of my recurring New Year\u2019s resolutions.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Isn\u2019t that true for many of our New Year\u2019s resolutions? In many cases, they end before they are started. This is true for many things we want to do in life.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ll take that trip one day\u201d or \u201cI\u2019ll wait until tomorrow\u201d are some of the phrases we use even though we tell others that \u201ctomorrow isn\u2019t promised.\u201d I bring this up because \u201ctime is precious,\u201d and the demands on our time don\u2019t always lend themselves to \u201cstop and smell the roses.\u201d Finally, our daily to-do list is so long that \u201cthere aren\u2019t enough hours in the day to get it all done.\u201d Do any of these quotes sound familiar?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>The tax on our time is what I coined \u201cThe Cotton Candy Effect.\u201d Our time can be compared to sharing cotton candy. By the time everyone is done taking a piece, there isn\u2019t a lot left for yourself.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I came up with this analogy one day while at work. On many occasions, my workday started with the best of intentions. I had my to-do list all written out, prioritized, and scheduled. As the day went on, chunks of my time kept disappearing due to issues throughout the day. Some were bigger than others, while some were quick to resolve. By the end of the day, there was not enough time to finish what I planned to do that day, so I had to put off my plan for tomorrow.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Sharing the best of yourself with others makes us a better community. The key is that when it comes to time, keep enough of it for yourself to enjoy things like family, friends, prayer, travel, exercise, entertainment, or whatever motivates and inspires you. Continue to share, and continue to give, but in the end, if you are not happy with yourself, how can you make others feel happy in your presence?<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>For 2024, think about how you will spend time that will leave enough that fills your spirit and prepares you to be good to others around you, and don\u2019t put off to tomorrow what you can get done today.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Life is short. Enjoy every minute of it. Now, <i>that<\/i> is a New Year\u2019s resolution to consider. <strong><span style=\"color: #1daeec;\">spt<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A new year always makes me feel like I have another chance to make a difference, discover a new place to visit, accomplish a new goal, or just finish one that carried [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":12856,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.3 - 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