How to Respond to Adversity

I was listening to Matt Dixon’s Purple Patch podcast this morning while riding my bike on the trainer. I heard an interesting story I thought was worth sharing. The story is about a daughter facing a lot of challenges in life. Her father is a chef and conveyed a neat message with a potato, egg, and coffee grinds. Here’s a abbreviated version of the story:

The father filled three pots with water and brought each of them to a boil. He placed the potato in one pot, the egg in another, and the coffee grinds in the third pot. He boiled each for twenty minutes. He then took the potato out and placed it in a bowl, the egg in another bowl, and he ladled the coffee out and placed it in a cup.

The father asked his daughter, “What do you see?” “A potato, egg, and coffee,” she replied with frustration. The chef asked his daughter to look closer. “Touch the potato.” She did and said it was soft.

She broke the shell on the egg and said “it got hard.”

He asked his daughter to try the coffee. She did and thoroughly enjoyed it.

“What does this mean? she questioned.

The father explained that each of the three items (egg, coffee, and potato) faced the same adversity, which was boiling water. The potato became soft and weak, the egg was originally fragile but came became hard as it was boiled. The coffee, however, transformed the water into something new.

I then asked myself, “Which one am I?” When adversity presents itself, do I want to be the potato, egg, or coffee?

Additional Items I’d Like to Note:

My friend Dustyn hooked me on a book I’ve been unable to put down. Atomic Habits by James Clear. I haven’t finished it yet, but it has made me rethink my routines. I stopped bringing my phone to the bathroom in the morning and it has helped me get out the door 5-10 minutes quicker.

I saw a quote yesterday in a Cold Pursuit with Liam Neeson which I have been thinking about ever since:

“Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go” – Oscar Wilde

It took me a few moments to wrap my head around the meaning. I’d like to make and effort to be associated with the first part of the quote and not the second.

-SD