"A daughter complained to her father about life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of struggling. It seemed that as soon as one problem was solved, a new one arose.
Her father, who is a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to a boil. In one he placed carrots, in the second one he placed eggs, and the last one he placed ground coffee beans. He let them sit and boil, without saying a word.
The daughter sucked her teeth and impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing. In about twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He took the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them a bowl. At last he poured the coffee in the bowl.
Turning to her he asked. “What do you see?”
“Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied.
He brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noticed 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 said, “What’s the point?”
He explained that each of the items had faced the same adversity -boiling water – but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong and hard. But after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But after boiled in the water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water itself.
“Which are you?” he asked his daughter.
“When problem knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?”
