Handling adversity

A daughter complained to her father about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved a new one arose.

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In one he placed carrots, in the second he placed eggs, and the last he placed
ground coffee beans. He let them sit and boil, without saying a word. The
daughter sucked her teeth and impatiently waited, wondering what he was
doing. In about twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He fished the
carrots out and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed
them a bowl. Then he ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.


Turning to her he asked. "Darling, what do you see."

"Carrots, eggs, and coffee," she replied.

He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted
that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After
pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked
her to sip the coffee. She smiled as she tasted it and smelled its rich
aroma. She humbly asked. "What does it mean Dad?"


He explained that each of them had faced the same adversity, boiling water,
but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and
unrelenting. But after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened
and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had
protected its liquid interior. But after sitting through the boiling water,
its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however.
After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.


"Which are you," he asked his daughter. "When adversity knocks on your
door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean? "