Happy International Women’s Day! – Anderson Connect

March 8th is the International Women’s Day, in this month’s Connect, we pay tribute to the mothers, daughters, and women who enrich, uplift, and inspire us in our lives, particularly those standing in courage for their loved ones.

In this month’s Anderson Connect, we will be sharing the following, hope you enjoy!

• A Short Story
• A Message from Anderson
• A Quote

A Short Story

The Chef’s Daughter
Once there was a girl who was complaining to her mom that her life was so hard and that she didn’t know how she would get through all of her struggles. She was tired, and she felt like as soon as one problem was solved, another would arise.

Being a Chef, the girl’s mother took her into the kitchen where she started boiling three pots of water that were equal in size. She placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in another, and ground coffee beans in the final pot.

She let the pots sit and boil for a while, not saying anything to her daughter.

She turned the burners off after twenty minutes and removed the potatoes from the pot and put them in a bowl. She did the same with the boiled eggs. She then used a ladle to scoop out the boiled coffee and poured it in a mug. She asked her daughter, “What do you see?”
The daughter responded, “Potatoes, eggs, and coffee.”

Her mother told her to take a closer look and touch the potatoes. After doing so, she noticed they were soft. Her mother then told her to break open an egg. She acknowledged the hard-boiled egg. Finally, her mother told her to take a sip of the coffee. It was rich and delicious.

After the daughter asked what all of this meant, the mother explained that each of the three food items had just undergone the exact same hardship – twenty minutes inside of boiling water.

However, each item had a different reaction.

The potato went into the water as a strong, hard item, but after being boiled, it turned soft and weak.

The egg was fragile when it entered the water, with a thin outer shell protecting a liquid interior. However, after it was left to boil, the inside of the egg became firm and strong.

Finally, the ground coffee beans were different. Upon being exposed to boiling water, they changed the water to create something new altogether.

She then asked her daughter, “Which are you? When you face adversity, do you respond by becoming soft and weak? Do you build strength? Or do you change the situation?”

Moral of the story:
Life is full of ups and downs, wins and losses, and big shifts in momentum, and adversity is a big part of this experience. And while many of us would rather not face adversity, it doesn’t have to always be a negative thing. In fact, handling adversity can be a positive experience that can lead to personal development.

You choose how you respond to adversity, whether you let it break you down or you stand up in the face of it and learn from it. In many instances, facing adversity gives you a chance to learn important lessons that can help you grow as a person.

When facing adversity, it’s important to recognize your freedom to choose how you respond. You can respond in a way that ultimately limits you, or you can choose to have a more productive response that could potentially open windows of opportunity that you didn’t know existed.

Source: DevelopGoodHabits

A Message from Anderson

Last week we shared a message of concern regarding the Ukraine situation with our entire community. Please remember that we are here for you. Complimentary and confidential keep.meSAFE services are accessible 24/7/365 by calling 1-844-451-9700 (and 1-416-380-6578 outside of Canada and the USA). The My SSP app can also be downloaded and features additional information and tips on coping with stressful events.

A Quote

Let’s end this connect with a powerful quote from an icon and a remarkable woman – Audrey Hepburn:
“I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that tomorrow is another day, and I believe in miracles.”

We hope this Connect offers you a little light in your month and a connection to what is good and solid and possible in your own life and in the world.