βWHO MOVED MY CHEESE?...
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... An A-Mazing Way to Deal with Change In Your Work and In Your Life”
The title of this short book caught my attention first… I LOVE cheese! Then I saw that it was written by Spencer Johnson, MD, the author of “The One Minute Manager” that I read years ago. Then I saw that it was less than 100 pages long… a perfect little nugget I could devour in a couple of hours.
“Life is no straight and easy corridor along which we travel free and unhampered, but a maze of passages, through which we must seek our way, lost and confused, now and again checked in a blind alley. But always, if we have faith, a door will open for us, not perhaps one that we ourselves would ever have thought of, but one that will ultimately prove good for us.” ~ A.J. Cronin
“Who Moved My Cheese?” is a wonderfully simple parable about change. It is a fun and informative tale about four characters who live in a ‘Maze’ and who must look for ‘Cheese’ not only for food, but in their quest for happiness. Two of the characters are mice (Sniff and Scurry) and two are ‘little people,’ Hem and Haw, who are mouse-size characters who look and act a lot like humans. OK, the stage is almost set. Just three more things to clarify: (1) ‘Cheese’ is a metaphor for what you want in life -- maybe a good job, a loving relationship, a fancy car, swimming pool or vibrant health, inner peace, freedom or all of the above – whatever you truly desire; (2) The ‘Maze’ is wherever you look for your Cheese; and (3) the four imaginary characters in the story represent the simple and the complex parts of ourselves – sometimes we see change early and take action; sometimes we deny and resist change due to fear of the unknown but then learn to adapt when we realize that the only chance we have for survival is to embrace it. “Whatever parts of us we choose to use, we all share something in common: a need to find our way in the maze and succeed in changing times.”
Anyway, in the story Change happens (as it always does) and everyone’s Cheese gets moved! The search is different for each of the characters and many of this book’s lessons are in seeing ourselves in the thoughts and actions of the characters.
For Sniff and Scurry (being mice), it wasn’t too long before their normal mouse activities helped them find the Cheese again, but they didn’t tell anyone else what they had learned so their knowledge didn’t help the others. “Finally, one day Haw (one of the little people) began laughing at himself. ‘Look at us! We keep doing the same things over and over again and wonder why things don’t get better.’” So, short story shorter, all the characters eventually realized that ‘change happens’ and to survive it must be dealt with – and the sooner the better! Here are some ‘nuggets’ from the book. (Remember that CHEESE IS WHATEVER YOU WANT IN LIFE):
* If you do not change, you can become extinct.
* Ask yourself this question: What would you do if you weren’t afraid?
* Smell the Cheese often so you know when it is getting old.
* When you move beyond your fear, YOU FEEL FREE.
* Imagining yourself enjoying new Cheese even before you find it, leads you to it.
* The quicker you let go of old Cheese, the sooner you find new Cheese.
* It is safer to search in the Maze than remain in a Cheeseless situation.
* Old beliefs do NOT lead you to new Cheese.
* When you see that you can find and enjoy new Cheese, you change course.
* Noticing small changes early helps you adapt to the bigger changes that are to come.
So, my friends, here is The Handwriting on the Wall:
(1) Change Happens (they keep moving the Cheese)
(2) Anticipate Change (get ready for the Cheese to move)
(3) Monitor Change (smell the Cheese often so you know when it’s getting old)
(4) Adapt to Change Quickly (the quicker you let go of the old, the sooner you can enjoy the new)
(5) Change (move with the Cheese)
(6) ENJOY Change (savor the adventure and enjoy the taste of the new Cheese)
(7) Be Ready to Change Quickly and Enjoy It Again and Again (they keep moving the Cheese you know. :-)
Cheese will never look the same to me again! Are you ready to find new Cheese?
THE END
…or is it a new beginning?
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Comments: 20 
About the Author: Lyn Mullins
Member Since: 02/19/2009
I'm a Distributor For:: Mentoring For Free
Other Company: Better Web Builder
Industry: Training and Development
Primary Web Site: http://Aspire2Wealth.com
Love the Cheesey Bits :)
Thanks Lyn for this excellent post. Wow, it sure packs a big punch! I guess this little baby will be coming home to my reading collection sometime very soon (or at least before they move the Cheese again, right?)
I Love Cheese!
So many different cheeses and so many different ways to eat it, making it a good analogy in that sense too. Change is inevitable, so look for it, embrace it and enjoy it! A great lesson for life and business alike, get the most out of both!
Change is Hard!
Esp when you get Cozy! No such thing as a world without change. Thanks for helping us prepare our minds for Changes! Why be surprised by them? Just be REady for adventure!
Your friend for life Juanita Waterman
I appreciate you Lyn
The Quest For Cheese
Lynn...thank so much for the article on Life...it inspires me to go on and not be afraid of change...well maybe less afraid...
thanks again
Phil Sebastian
Change is a Must
Great Story Lyn! Sounds like an Interesting Book to Read.
Sometimes we dont want things to change because we fear what that change may bring into our lives but the truth is that change is key to Survival. Always Keep Your Eye on the Prize!
Do same things over and over again and...
...wonder why things donβt get better. That definitely lit a fire under me, Thanks
Good Story
If you don't change you will become extinct, WOW.
Hey I love that book
Let us move and shake with change and encourage each other.
Team is together we can achieve more
Take the I, Me, My out of lives and put in You, They and Their and see their life change...
Love that book...read it many times and always get much out of it.\
Your friend, Jan
How yummy is your cheese?
Lyn, I Love it! I've been listening to Big Al's training cds about story telling. This is definitely a great story with word pictures that will stick in peoples minds. And think about all the ways we enjoy cheese...grated, melted, in big chunks, in little bits, sliced....lots of ways. Let that be how we enjoy life too! :)
Thanks for sharing this Lyn.
Thanks for sharing this Lyn. You found many golden nuggets in that book. And I am so glad you shared it with us! Change is going to happen, it is up to us how we handle it. I also liked what you said about looking forward to new cheese. To me this means looking ahead in the future and seeing where I will be in life. Thanks again Lyn. : )
Love the story about cheese Lyn...
Makes me want to pack it up again, and move to Wisconsin! If somebody moves the cheese, you can still find a bar on every corner!
The Journey Is An Adventure, Filled With Change~
It is that very change and how we react to it, in what makes us who we are. It prepares us for what we have been called to receive and its big, its good. I am so grateful that I have become that person who invites change and the experience it will give me by working through it. Fear continues to disappear and brings excitement for what we will learn by going through. Excellent article Lyn. I have to get my hands on that book!
Old Cheese....
But I really like my old, cured dutch cheese..... I hope they don't move it. ;-)
Know Your Cheese
Love the story. And a little moving of the Cheese just keeps the mold off...lol. This is perfect for the whole family.
Nice Thought Jan
Jan, great comment!
Change and Cheese
Lyn, great article. I love the analogy of change and cheese, You did a great detailed explanation of the book and its meaning. GREAT STORY and GREAT VISUALIZATION. I agree with Juanita, change is hard, but we must push ourselves and you said it in such a way that change may nto be as hard as we let our subconscious makes it seem. Thank you Lyn. Great Value. Change is inevitable to progress or you will become extinct.
Courage To Change
Love your article Lyn...I will never look at cheese the same way anymore : )
It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power. Alan Cohen
A MOVIE Trailer!!
I just discovered that they did an animated movie from the book -- Who Moved My Cheese The Movie, is available in English, French, Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, and Arabic. And, just for the fun of it, here is a short preview: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4C0M2CL9TJE
Embrace change.
Change is going to happen whether you want it to or not. So prepare! Thanks Lyn.
Timothy C Burns
Everything changes
Everything changes..it never stays the same. Learn to embrace change.
Loved this article
I will get the book.
Alice McCarthy