A young woman went to her mother and told her that her life was full of problems and she did not know how to deal with them.

Her mother took her to the kitchen and filled three pots with water. She placed carrots, eggs and grounds coffee beans in the three pots respectively and boiled them for twenty minutes. Then she placed all the three things in separate bowls.

She brought the bowls closer and asked her to feel the carrots. The daughter did and noted that they were soft. She then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg.

Finally, she asked her to sip the coffee. The daughter smiled, as she tasted its rich aroma.

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity -boiling water, but each reacted differently. The strong carrot had softened and become weak while the fragile egg hardened from inside. However the ground coffee beans were unique. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.

"Which are you?" she asked her daughter. "When problem knocks on your door, how do you respond? Do you go weak like carrot or harden like egg or you change the situation around you like a coffee bean?

Who are you? Carrot, Egg, or a Coffee Bean?