Adversity

I find it fascinating how we all react so differently when presented to the same stressor, the same adversity. Take, for instance, the story of the potato, the egg, and the coffee bean.

Expose all three to the same adversity: 20 minutes of boiling water. What do you have when the time is up?

Touch the potato.

Peel the egg.

Smell the coffee.

The potato went in strong, hard and unrelenting, but after time in the boiling water, it became soft and weak. The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid interior until it was put in the boiling water. While the water boiled, the inside of the egg became hard. However, the ground coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they didn't change. Instead, they changed the water and created something new and strong in its own right.

When adversity rings your doorbell, how do you respond? Are you a potato, an egg, or a coffee bean?

Shit happens around us and to us. The only thing that really matters is how you react to it, which is ultimately your choice, and what you make of it afterwards. Learn from each experience. Overcome and adapt, and choose to make the best of them all. Be a coffee bean. Make something new and strong.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world."