Category: Who Moved My Cheese

Carlos said, “I guess we resist changing because we are afraid of change.” (Johnson, 1998). But what is change and why does the mere thought of it cause goosebumps to suddenly appear out of nowhere and why does it make our hearts beat to a faster tune? Well according to an online dictionary, change is an act or process through which something becomes different. (Dictionary, 2019) Life is full of surprises at every turn and barely any plan goes accordingly. So how do we make the best of a seemingly bad situation and end up seeing the light at the end of the tunnel? Because at the end of the day, the only constant thing in our lives is change.

Sometimes, we let our seemingly “powerful” human beliefs and emotions guide us and let them determine the way we understand things. We let our perception of things rule us as opposed to just sitting back and looking at things with the eyes of a child. This is why accommodating change is so difficult for many people. People want to hold on steadfastly to what they believe in, they want to jealously guard their beliefs and their hearts but little do they know that they are only limiting their selves and their progress. The fear of the unknown is what makes the incredibly hesitant to embrace change. The world has so much to offer and one can only take advantage of that by adapting to every situation that one is presented with. If one tries to run away or ignore the challenge of change, one only denies themselves the opportunity to learn and to grow.

Usually, change does not just occur overnight. It is a gradual process that many fail to perceive until it is too late to do anything about it. In the book “Who Moved My Cheese?” Scurry and Sniff were very perceptive about their environment and thus when they arrived at Cheese Station C one morning and discovered that there was no cheese, they were not caught by surprise. They knew what their next course of action ought to be. However, the same could not be said for Hem and Haw. They were both so caught up living in the moment that they forgot to expect the unexpected to happen and because of that, they were not prepared to accommodate the change. In life, when a change occurs, one is left with only two options. One either embraces the change or gets swept away by the change. There are several ways by which one can manage change.

Firstly, one has to acknowledge the fact that there is no way that change can be avoided and the more one fights it, the tougher one’s life becomes. One of the ways to accommodate change is not by learning to like what is happening but by forming new expectations that could ultimately lead to success given the new circumstances. If the change happens to be good, then accept it with grace and humility and if it happens to be bad, embrace it until an alternative can be found.

Another important point to note is that one does not have to deal with change all alone. Family, friends and support groups are always there to show their love and support but one has to make that conscious decision to willingly swallow their pride, reach out and ask for help. (Goldsmith, 2016) Then and only then would one be able to get the help they need to adapt to the change.

In conclusion, no one ever gets it right on the first trial. As a matter of fact, if we can all be honest with ourselves, no one is expected to get it right the first time. In life, there will be very few people like Scurry and Sniff and more people like Haw and Hem but that is okay. Not everyone can be perceptive enough to detect a change before it is too late and neither can everyone be fast enough to adapt to a change but everyone can strive to be more like Haw and less like Hem. Where the problem lies is not in failing to realize that the change was occurring but in choosing to remain in denial and thereby refusing to accommodate the change which is exactly what Hem did. There is no way to escape the impact that change can bring into your life. The only key to living a life where one is not only surviving but thriving is by learning to manage change. (Sandford, 2019)

References

1. Dictionary, O. (2019). Change. Retrieved from Lexico’s Dictionary: www.lexico.com
2. Goldsmith, B. (2016, March 07). Adapting to Change. Retrieved from Psychology Today: www.psychologytoday.com
3. Johnson, S. (1998). Who Moved My Cheese? New York: Putnam Adult.
4. Sandford, K. (2019, November 25). Adapting to change. Retrieved from Lifehack: www.lifehack.org

A very compelling book, Who Moved My Cheese? An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in Your Work and In Your Life written by Spencer Johnson. There are four main characters that the book talks about, Sniff and Scurry (who are little mice) and Hem and Haw (little beings who are human like) who find themselves in a “maze” looking for “cheese”. The purpose of this piece of writing is to review this amazing book, its characters and the information that encapsulates it, as well as any negatives and personal thoughts that came to mind whilst reading the book.

The saying “the only constant in life is change” is one which is brought to light in the book. An introduction which is wonderfully done to ease readers into the main story and allow them to follow through as the writer talks about change and how many react to it either positively or otherwise. Readers will be able to better understand the sayings as well the main idea of the writing and help them integrate it into their lives helping them as individuals, and being the change, they need without being left behind as change occurs around them. The author’s use of various characters to better help readers relate with the story and carry out his information shows the kind of research, thought and effort he put into his book.

There are many lessons readers can learn and realize about themselves and others around them from reading the book. The factors responsible for change and how we adapt are whether internally and/or externally as in the case of haw who not only had to change how he thought but also who and what he listened to, for if he had continued to allow his fears and the pessimistic nature of hem influence him would have stayed at where he was and met his end and would have never found the new Cheese and the lessons he learnt on the way. One thing that can also be taken to account as humans some are born to privileges of life and have little to no worries and look down on others when growing up so the feel entitled to everything. Just like Hem who thought due to his high intellect and the gifts he was born with was all that he needed and couldn’t learn anything from the mice who were below him.

What I personally realized about myself after reading the book is that I’m more of Haw and Sniff in the sense that though I am able to sense or “sniff” the change and realize it’s happening or has happened but I am reluctant to change along with it unless it reaches a dire situation where I would no choice but to accept it and not let my fears that prevented me from acting earlier on dominate and control my actions. An instance was when I first came to the realization of Christ and was born again, it became very difficult to walk and talk with some the people I knew without saying something that sounded somewhat offensive to them. I had to live a dual life where I had different personalities to please everyone. It was later when a friend who saw what the dilemma I was in and helped me to be able to deal and live just one life and change all those who didn’t agree with the character of the new me. It wasn’t easy but was worth it. This is a book I would recommend for all sundry and anyone dealing with change and/or ready to be the change they desire.

Although i have read so many books but i think this book is one of the best life changing and transforming books i have read. Who Moved My Cheese has really given me insight in some of the things that i have already done that i never knew that what i was going through was a direct implication of those things and the various changes that refused to go through. The success of these books lies in the mix between their simple recipe and deep-rooted messages. They choose mythical figures and simple themes to deliver secrets about living life to its fullest. Quirky as it sounds, we humans more readily and much less defensively embrace messages from these imaginary characters experiencing human trials and emotional traumas than their more real life counterparts.

Sometimes, i think the best method to get new cheese is to walk in the simplicity of mind; thus using the normal trial and error method which may seem foolish to many people just like Hem and Haw. And that there is no easy way to get your new cheese . you must train your mind to go through any crooked ways in life for you to get your new cheese at the end of your labour. Although you can lost along the way just like Sniff and Scurry in trying to find your cheese but never allow those things prevent you from searching for new cheese; because getting lost and traying to find a new way out there teaches you a great lesson of life that will empower you to overcome the troubles of tomorrow and it will also save many unnecessary sufferings for many decades. The simple mind set possessed by Sniff and Scurry made them wiser than Hem and Haw in that they knew how to adapt to changes in life easily could smell or detect the dangers ahead and made preparations towards it (thus they had an alternative plans). And this reminds me of what my spiritual father told me about some facts of life and how to achieve a long lasting success. He said , you can never grow in life withhout wounds (and that in the story is the time that sniff and scurry getting lost in the cause of searching for cheese). And the other one goes like , what you need to reign in life is not money but ideas and that you need to get an alternative plan in whatever thing that you want to do; for you are the only person whose plan fail, and the first person who show us that our plans can fail in life and that we need an alternative plans is God. When God was creating man he already had dn alternative plans been laid down so when the first plan fail (when man fall from the grace ) he did not time trying to find out what to do next but ;moved straigth to the alternative plan; thus was bringing Jesus, the lamb of God that was slain even before the foundation of the world. And i could see this in the life of Sniff and Scurry who did not waste their precious time thinking about what to do next when they found out that there was no cheese at cheese station C . They quickly moved to other places to search for new cheese . And beacuse they were prepared they were not suprise when they woke up one day and find out that cheese station C was cheeseless, whilist Hem and Haw were wasting their time at cheeseless station C Sniff and Scurry were busy enjoying cheese at cheese station N where later on the relentless Haw also getting victory over the fear of change pressed on untill he finally achieved his goals of getting new cheese .Sniff and Scurry teaches us that is is better for us to learn new things without fear since the world is undergoing a gradual transformation or changes , many people who have succeed and are afraid of change will be shock that those ideas that brought them into business if not improve upon will not be useful anymore since everyday people are coming out with new ideas which will make the best idea today irrelevant tomorrow . so there is a great need for us to adapt to changes and improve upon our skills and plans so that it can fit to the current system of world.

This profound quote that was made by the relentless Haw obviously explain to why i nearly lost my life when i got Born Agian. When you change what you believe you change what you do! I remember when i became born again , the Holy Spirit kept warning me to stay away from a certain friend of my whom i love so much beacuse we have been friends since primary school,annd here comes the case that i got born again and i tried bringing him to christ but he was not willing to change . he was invoved in many og the worldly activities like gambling, betting, womanizing, drinking etc. and was normally with him whenever i am in townand they will be playing their circular music,talking about their girlfriends and sex and many others even to extend that he even tried to dash me a girl but since i was not doing what they were doing i kept on moving with them and the lord will not relent ,he kept warning me untill the day that i stood at the the frontier life and death;and as at time that i was my prayer life died at once as i supposed but this book makes me strongly believe that it did not die in just one daybut my problem was that i was not smelling the cheese always so when it was getting old i could not detect it just like Hem and Haw who wake up one day and find out that their cheese station was surprisingly cheeseless .The book could have been improved by first answering the question ‘what is my cheese?’ I would have liked insights into why certain things are more important to me. Without knowing the answer to this question, it is tough to anticipate the changes that are going to have a more drastic effect. Perhaps ‘What is my cheese’ will be the next in a series of cheese stories from Johnson. I hope so. All this being said, Who Moved My Cheese? is destined to be a classic. Buy it to use in your business, your classes, and most importantly for your own self-development.

Coauthor of The One Minute Manager, Dr Spencer Johnson tells us a story about 4 characters who live in a maze and learn to deal with unexpected change. This is a business classic although the lessons it teaches are not limited to just managers and employees.

INTRODUCTION

Who moved my cheese is a fable about four characters who live in a maze and they all love cheese. When the cheese disappears, Scurry and Sniff enthusiastically head out into the maze to find new cheese. On the other hand Hem and Hall feel betrayed and complain. They waste their time and energy hoping the old cheese will return. Hall realizes the old cheese won’t return so he sets out into the maze in search for new cheese. He writes what he learns on the walls hoping that Him will follow him. Eventually he discovers new cheese and sees that Scurry and Sniff were already there. Cheese a metaphor for what you want to have in life. It could be a good job, loving relationship, money or health. 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 will be with.

Tim was an author and sold books on Amazon. He got paid $5.00 every time someone bought his book. This was his cheese. He loved his cheese but Amazon made a change to their way of paying authors. They introduced a new program called Kindle unlimited, where customers could download his book for free. The catch is that he only got paid for the amount of pages that customers read. He didn’t like this. His sales were dropping. He got angry at Amazon for taking his cheese. He spent weeks sending nasty emails to Amazon about why they should give his cheese back and complaining to his friends. Then there was Dave. He was an author as well instead of complaining, Dave sought out new cheese this brings us to few lessons on Change:

LESSON 1: Change Happens

They keep moving the cheese. Dave accepted that change is inevitable. Amazon is constantly updating their business systems to meet the demands of their customers.

LESSON 2: Anticipate Change

Get ready for the cheese to move. Dave expected things to change so he was not surprised when Amazon changed their payment system.

LESSON 3: Monitor Change

Smell the cheese often so you know when it’s getting old. Dave was able to anticipate change because he kept up with the latest news about Amazon. He talked with other authors and paid attention to the frequent emails Amazon sent him.

LESSON 4: Adapt To Change Quickly

The quicker you let go of old cheese the sooner you can enjoy new cheese. Dave knew that hanging around and complaining would not change amazon’s payment system so instead he quickly adapted to the change.

LESSON 5: Change

Move with the cheese. To adapt to the change Dave thought of ways to boost the sales with the new payment system. Through brainstorming and creative thinking he was able to come up with several techniques that would encourage the reader to read more pages in his books. One technique was to combine books that weren’t selling into one that was that way the reader was likely to read everything, as a result his sales began increasing again.

LESSON 6: Enjoy Change

Enjoy the taste of new cheese. Dave was happy that his work paid off. His success didn’t end there. He created an on-line course to teach people how they could adapt to Amazon’s new payment system and it sold like hotcakes. “Life moves on and so should we”

Conclusion

The old adage asserts that, ‘change is the only constant thing’; consequently, adapting and enjoying change repeatedly is the best thing to do. Spencer wrote Who Moved My Cheese to illustrate the effects of denying change or accepting it. Acknowledging, strategizing for, acting on, and enjoying change, underlines Spencer’s work. The ‘Hems’ of today should learn from and emulate the ‘Sniffs’ and ‘Scurrys’ to avoid extinction or mediocrity.

A growth mindset is being able to develop and adapt through hard work and good strategies. Haw demonstrated an impeccable development of growth mindset, Haw eventually became aware his old ways would not lead him to new cheese. Haw once allowed his fear to imprison him in that maze, he then realized that he needed to trust the process and let go. For example, “He reflected on the mistakes he had made in the past and used them to plan for his future. He knew that you could learn to deal with change. You could be more aware of the need to keep things simple, be flexible, and move quickly. You did not need to overcomplicate matters or confuse yourself with fearful beliefs.” He was now prepared to adapt to any changes, and advanced forward to always being able to find his new cheese.

Stress management would be specific strategies and techniques to help deal with stress. Scurry and Sniff were great examples of this by being able to quickly adapt to what was happening around them due, to them keeping their life simple and always pushing forward. For example, “While Sniff and Scurry had quickly moved on, Hem and Haw continued to hem and haw. They ranted and raved at the injustice of it all. Haw started to get depressed.”. Scurry and Sniff were always to anticipate change and not get discouraged.

Metacognition is reflecting on ones thought process and their level of awareness. Haw ultimately was able to change the trajectory of his situation by becoming aware. Reflecting is what he did a great deal of for example, “Haw now realized that the change probably would not have taken him by surprise if he had been watching what was happening all along and if he had anticipated change. Maybe that’s what Sniff and Scurry had been doing.” Haw was able to admit that his old and intitled ways actually holding him back.

Thinking Flexibly is all about being able to morph yourself to be quick on your feet, following instinct, and being able to adapt to any situation at any time. Scurry was able change into being a flexible thinker for example, “The mice did not over analyze things. To the mice, the problem and the answer were both simple. The situation at Cheese Station C had changed.

So, Sniff and Scurry decided to change.”. They would go head first into the problem which is adventuring through a maze they truly knew nothing about. L.Costa stated “…..to solve problems with incomplete information.” which would be another key factor in thinking flexible.

Summary

Dr. Spencer Johnson’s book ‘Who Moved My Cheese’ is frequently suggested to help people and businesses accept and embrace change. Cheese has been defined by the author as any relationship, love, career, money, happiness, reputation, achievements, or anything else that a person desires in life. Maze, on the other hand, is the world in which we humans live.

Sniff, Scurry, Hem, and Haw are the main characters of this book. Sniff and Scurry acted as mice, while Hem and Haw acted as humans, but they are as small as mice. The four of them were trapped in a maze and had to constantly look for cheese to survive.

Their duty was to get up early and go out to find the cheese in the maze. One fine day they find a lot of cheese. The human takes those cheese for granted and didn’t noticed their surrounding while mice noticed that day by day the amount of cheese was decreasing. There were ready for the change. One day the cheese runs out. The mice were ready for the change so they moved on for the search of cheese while little humans started complaining that someone stole their cheese and they waited in hope that the cheese would come back.

But one-day Haw decided to go with the change and find new cheese. He also tried to convinces Hem to go and explore cheese with him but Hem was not ready for the change and.

At last he found tons of cheese of different and tasty flavors and also met with Sniff and Scurry there.

Quotations

“Work hard even if you think you have the cheese you want”.
‘Your faith tends to affect your actions’ ‘Faith has changed a lot’
‘When fear and doubt disappear, things become clear.’
‘People tend to be slow and get used to old behavior.’
‘Don’t be angry and blame anyone or anything else for your current situation.’
‘Look for change. Prepare for the unexpected. Change happens fast. Adjust. Take advantage of change.’
“Early detection of small changes will help you get used to the bigger changes ahead.’

Things I liked about the book

The most important thing that I liked about this book is that it let us prepare and encourage us to decide every possible thing that might occur and allow us to be mentally prepared for any type of unexpected change that we might face.

Conclusion

Nowadays, the world is developing rapidly. The rate of survival depends on how a person is able to adapt to the changes and don’t take things for granted. It is important that we look for new ways and ideas to achieve what is necessary for survival. Shapes and ideas like cheese can become obsolete and stocks dry up. That is why we need to plan ahead, investigate and never give up hope.