In life, things happen around us, things happen to us, but the only thing that matters is how we choose to react to those circumstances and what we make out of them. Today, we share the parable of the potato, the egg, and the coffee beans to illustrate some of the different ways that you can respond to adversity in your life. When introduced to boiling water, the tough, unrelenting potato becomes soft and weak. The egg, with its fragile shell protecting its gooey interior, becomes hardened and tough. However, the coffee beans are unique. When exposed to boiling water, they adapt and change the water around them to create something new and remarkable. We believe that this is a universally applicable analogy, no matter what your life experience is. We are all occasionally put in ‘hot water’ and forced to choose how to respond. Maybe you’re starting a particularly challenging project, dealing with a difficult relationship, or you have to take on a responsibility that you weren’t prepared for. Whatever it is, we hope you’ll join us today to learn more about the value of vulnerability, adaptability, and practicing gratitude, plus so much more!

Key Points From This Episode:

• How the potato responds to boiling water, which represents adversity, by turning soft.
• What it might look like if you are a potato that clings to your illusion of control.
• Megan highlights how the pandemic tested each of us in different, unique ways.
• How a fragile egg responds to boiling water by becoming tough and hard.
• Kelly shares how she relates with the egg and struggles with vulnerability.
• Understanding that how you respond to adversity can evolve.
• The value of setting yourself free from the things you can’t control.
• Reflecting on the pressure we have both felt to be the ‘perfect’ parents.
• How the coffee beans represent the people who adapt and grow with every hardship.
• Remembering that “this too shall pass” and the benefits of practicing gratitude.
• The value of finding a balance between the three different approaches.
• A reminder that letting go and moving on from deep trauma can be much more difficult.
• Why we emphasize the importance of having a strong support network.
• Kelly explains how building resilience can serve you when you go through hard times.
• We discuss our potential to respond to adversity differently at different stages in our lives.
• Share whether you think you’re a potato, an egg, or coffee on our Facebook group!

Tweetables:

“Hardships and adversities and troubles in our lives are always going to be there. We can't control that. We can really only control how we respond to them.” — Kelly Castillo [0:03:47]

“The minute you set yourself free of the things that you can't control, whether it's life's algorithm or social media’s algorithm, it’s a very nice feeling, because there's no such thing as perfect.” — Megan Block [0:19:17]

“The coffee represents the people who understand and accept that they're never going to be free of adversity. They don't necessarily embrace it, but they adapt and grow with every hardship. When you boil coffee, the coffee and the water both change for the better.” — Kelly Castillo [0:25:37]

“Difficult times are going to come to everybody at some point of their life. If you start building resilience and tolerance for the little inconveniences that we deal with on a regular basis then, when bigger things come up, you'll have more tools in your toolbox.” — Kelly Castillo [0:45:15]

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Kelly Castillo

Megan Block

She's A Full On Monet

She'