A carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?

His young daughter complained that life and things were too hard for her to handle. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up, give in, and throw in the towel. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, two more would arise.

Being a chef, her dad took her into the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on the stove and set the burner on high. Soon the pots came to a boil. In one he placed carrots, in the second he placed eggs, and in the last one he placed ground coffee beans. He let each pot sit and boil without uttering a single word to his daughter.

Waiting impatiently, the daughter drummed her fingers on the table wondering what her dad was doing. After about twenty minutes he turned off the burners. First, he fished out the carrots and placed them in a bowl. Then he pulled out the eggs and placed them in a bowl. Then he ladled the coffee 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 its rich aroma. She humbly asked, "What does it all mean dad?"

He explained that each of them had faced the same adversity - boiling water - but each reacted differently.

The carrot went into the boiling water strong, hard, and unrelenting. But after being subjected to the boiling water, it came out softened and weak.

The egg had been fragile. It's thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But after sitting in 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?"

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How you feel is really up to you.

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Pain is inevitable, but misery is optional.

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I choose to be the coffee bean - I choose to change the water!