A coffee bean helped me write a college essay.

“A blazing fire makes flame and brightness out of everything that is thrown into it.” – Marcus Aurelius

I will be writing a series of articles on what I’ve learned from my readings and exercises in Stoicism, a branch of philosophy with very practical implications. This is article 1 of that series. I hope to include my own personal stories to show how these teachings have shaped how I live my daily life, and would love to hear how they shape yours.

In high school cross country, after a particularly grueling day of practice, our team was relaxing on the ground (and catching our breath) while our coach read us a quick story. It is called The Carrot, The Egg, and the Coffee Bean. Here is an article from alanwongs.com if you would like to read it. Ultimately, we spoke about how we can face adversity (a boiling pot of water) like a carrot: go in hardened and come out softened by the experience. We could go in like an egg: with a hard exterior and then completely transformed afterwards. Or, we could transform the water, transform the adversity. We could turn what is impacting us into fuel for our own fire. I took this idea and ran with it. I was a coffee bean. I wrote about the adversities I had faced in high school in my college application and I believe the story I told was a big reason in my acceptance.

Adversity doesn’t ever end. Over the past 4 years, I have moved to a different part of the country, failed miserably at my job countless times, and now I am consistently challenged every month, week, and day. I’ve consistently been dealing with health problems that don’t seem to go away, even with diligent medicine-taking, diets, and exercise. I came across a term during my reading on stoicism, and I believe it matches up perfectly with the coffee bean mindset – Amor Fati.

Ryan Holiday, in his article on the topic says that Amor Fati is “making the best out of anything that happens: Treating each and every moment—no matter how challenging—as something to be embraced, not avoided. To not only be okay with it, but love it and be better for it. So that like oxygen to a fire, obstacles and adversity become fuel for your potential.” I concur. When placed into a boiling pot of water, a coffee bean does not wither. It does not harden or soften like an egg or a carrot. It makes the water a different version of itself. It transforms what is around it.

I know each one of us faces challenges every single day. Simply reading this article isn’t practicing Amor Fati. It is a constant remembrance of this practice and actually applying it to our lives whenever we hit an obstacle – that is what will make us stronger. Applied to my own life, I see so many instances I can make water into coffee. I work with students from very diverse socio-economic backgrounds. Teaching is not easy at all. However, every interaction I have with them teaches me a new strategy, a new insight on their lives, and a new approach to helping them prepare for the future. My bloodwork from the doctor has not looked so hot in the past year. That has taught me that magic of cooking better, new exercise routines, and has led me to read great books.

This mindset goes by many names. I’m glad I could find one that works for me.