Who Moved My Cheese?| An amazing way to deal with change in your work and in your life| by DR. Spencer Johnson

Who Moved My Cheese? | An amazing way to deal with change in your work and in your life| By DR. Spencer Johnson

Who moved my cheese? is a simple parable that revels profound truth. it is amusing and enlightening story of four characters-Sniff, Scurry, Hem and Haw. who lives in a maze and look for cheese to nourish them and make them happy.

Cheese in this story is a metaphor for what you want in life – a good job, a loving relationship, money, possessions, health or spiritual peace of mind. The maze is where you look for it – the organization you work for, the family or community you live in. And the problem is that no source of cheese lasts forever. Life changes, whether we like it or not.

The story involves four characters who live in a maze: the mice Scurry and Sniff, and two 'littlepeople', Hem and Haw. All is going well because they have found a huge source of their favourite food, cheese. Hem and Haw have even moved their houses to be near it and it has becomes the center of their lives. But they do not notice that it is getting smaller, and are devastated when they arrive at the site one morning and find the cheese is gone.

This is where the story splits in two. Scurry and Sniff quickly accept the loss of the cheese and go off into the maze in search of other sources. The littlepeople, because they have built their lives around the big cheese, feel they are the victim of some kind of fraud or theft. Yet this only makes things worse, as their clinging on ensures that they go hungry. Meanwhile, the mice move on and find new cheese.

Even though the cheese is no longer in Station C, Hem and Haw keep going back there, hoping that the cheese will reappear. Haw, eventually realizes that the cheese isn't going to reappear magically. So, he decides to venture out in pursuit of new cheese. Hem, is far less brave and refuses to leave Station C, but Haw sets out into the unknown, leaving a note for his friend saying, 'What would you do if you weren't afraid?'

Haw, begins his epic journey, and slowly starts to notice small changes within himself. The search for something new, actually feels quite exhilarating. This journey makes him self-reflective, and he begins to write maxims on the walls of the maze in the hope that one day, Hem might see them. Eventually, Haw discovers a new station with an abundance of cheese, and he reunites with Sniff and Scurry. They have been there for some time, enjoying the fruits of their labor

One of the book's central messages is that Haw's notes on the wall serve as encouragement for us all. Many of us are like Hem, and may struggle with the journey of change, taking risks, and venturing forward into the unknown.

The very core message of the book is this: Things constantly change, so we must adapt. The quicker we adapt a change, the more satisfied we will be.

Below are the stepwise lesson from the book-

 Lesson One: Change happens. They keep moving the cheese.

Change is unavoidable we should learn to accept it and be willing to change. Understand the purpose behind the change.

 Lesson Two: Anticipate change. Get ready for the cheese to move. 

if you expect things to remain the same, you may miss the signs that things are indeed changing. Hem and Haw were so thrilled with the cheese that they didn’t notice the stash dwindling nor even when the cheese started to mold!

Sometimes the things we believe about ourselves make it harder to accept change. If you feel you deserve success, good health or an endless supply of cheese, anything that takes these things away from you will feel unfair – so much so that you might even deny the fact that change is happening at all.

Lesson Three: Monitor changes. Smell the cheese often so you know when it’s getting old. 

 You never want to find yourself in this position. Instead, keep your eyes peeled for signs of change in your life and adapt as soon as you can. The sooner you do, the sooner you’ll find your way again.

Lesson Four: Adapt to change quickly. The quicker you let go of old cheese, the sooner you can enjoy new cheese. 

Now that you have expected change, anticipated it and monitored it, it’s time to adapt to it. The sooner you adapt to it the sooner you can take action. For you to be able to make a decision and take action you need to adapt to it. Accept the change and let go the previous conditions or situations. Things constantly change, so we must adapt. The quicker we adapt a change, the more satisfied we will be. 

Lesson Five: Change. Move with the cheese. 

Now it’s time to take action and move with change. An individual need to be courageous and risk taker to take the actions that his/ her mind wants to resist. But if by chance you are late in executing the change you will regret it.

Being afraid can make you stick to your comfort zone and you might never change. But remember if you are late in accepting the change and acting upon it you will regret it later. When you are not afraid life is happier.

 Lesson Six: Enjoy change. Savor the adventure and enjoy the taste of new cheese. 

When change happens, the first thing to realize is that how you react is your choice. The biggest barrier to change is inside you.

The second thing to realize is that the best way to deal with change is to keep things simple, be flexible and move quickly. When change comes along simply change with it.

 

Four Character of story:

 

If there’s one thing we know about life, it’s that change is inevitable. So how do you handle change? To not only cope but thrive in a changing environment, you’ll need to develop the kind of attitude and mind-set that makes adapting to change less frightening and more rewarding.