Trouble
is only opportunity in work clothes. - Henry J. Kaiser
What does
not destroy me, makes me strong. - Friedrich Nietzsche
The best
way out is always through. - Robert Frost
Be sure
you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm. - Abraham Lincoln
Are you a
potato, an egg or a coffee bean?
I heard this story last week and thought it was a great
perspective on how we handle difficult situations.
A
daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable and that she
didn’t know how she was going to make it. She was tired of fighting and
struggling all the time. It seemed that just as one problem was solved, another
one soon followed. Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three
pots with water and placed each over a higher fire. When the water began to
boil, he placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in the second pot, and ground coffee
beans in the third pot. He then let them boiling for a while without saying a
word to his daughter.
The
daughter moaned and waited impatiently, wondering what her father was doing.
After twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He took the potatoes and eggs
out of the pots, and placed them in different bowls, and poured the coffee into
a cup. Turning to her he asked “What do you see?” “Potatoes, eggs and coffee,”
she quickly replied. “Look closer,” he said, “and touch the potatoes.” She did
and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it.
After removing the shell she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally he asked her
to sip the coffee. Its rich aroma brought a smile to her face. “Father, what
does this mean?” she asked. He then explained that the potatoes, eggs and
coffee beans had each faced the same adversity- boiling water. However, each
one reacted differently.
The
potato went in strong, hard and unrelenting, but in boiling water it become
soft and weak.
The
egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid interior until
it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard.
However,
the ground coffee beans were unique. After being exposed in the boiling water,
they changed the water and created something new.
“Which
are you?” he asked his daughter. When adversity knocks to your door, how do you
respond? Are you a potato, an egg or a coffee bean?”
Challenge: Are you a potato, an egg or coffee
beans?
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