When Adversity Knocks...
Posted on October 14, 2019 by William Farrand, One of Thousands of Executive Coaches on Noomii.
How do you respond to adversity? Like a carrot, an egg, or coffee beans.
One day, a young woman and her grandmother were sitting at home, talking about the granddaughter’s life and why everything seemed so hard.
She said: “I just don’t know how to do this.” She was ready to give up, tired of fighting and struggling. “As soon as I solve one problem, I immediately have to face a new one.”
Without a word, her grandmother directed her towards the kitchen, where she filled three pots with water and put them on the stove.
In the first, she placed a few carrots, in the second a couple of eggs, and in the third a handful of ground coffee beans. Then they watched them boil. After twenty minutes, the grandmother turned off the heat, put the carrots on a plate, the eggs in a bowl and a few scoops of coffee in a mug. Then, she turned to her granddaughter and asked, “What do you see?”
“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” the young woman replied.
Her grandmother told her to step up closer and touch the carrots. They had softened. Then, she asked her to open an egg. It was hard inside. Lastly, she told her to take a sip of coffee. Her granddaughter smiled, as the rich, aromatic fluid touched her lips. “But, what’s the point of all this, grandmother?”
The old lady answered: “All these things had to face the same adversity–boiling water–but each reacted in a completely different way.” The carrot went in strong and hard, yet it came out soft and weak. The egg had been rather fragile but emerged hard and strong. And the ground coffee beans reacted in their very own, unique way: They changed the water they were boiled in.
“Now tell me, which are you?” she asked her granddaughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you react? Are you the carrot, the egg, or maybe the coffee beans?”
…and what are YOU?
Are you the carrot that seems strong at first sight, but loses its strength when things don’t go smoothly? Are you the egg? Soft inside, but strong when facing difficulties? Maybe light-hearted in the past, but hardened with what life threw at you?
Or, are you the coffee bean? Are you able to actually change what’s been trying to change or hurt you? Do you have the ability to turn things around, be the change you want to see, be a positive influence on negative circumstances?
Pour yourself a steamy cup of coffee and take a moment to reflect…
