Who moved my cheese?

One of the most overused cliché in life and in business is that of change. It is constant and it happens even in the most stable state of economy, weather, relationship and existence. We knew change can and will happen but we just simply don’t know how to react much less anticipate the imminent change. Dr. Spencer Johnson's book "Who moved my cheese?" looks beyond the idea of change and identified the resistance that normally comes with it.

Cheese is a metaphor for what you want to have in life – whether it is a good job, a loving relationship, money, or spiritual peace of mind. Cheese are the things we think that will make us happy, and when circumstances take it away, we deal with change in different ways. Four characters in this delightful parable represent parts of ourselves whenever we are confronted with change.

Everyday Hem, Haw, Sniff, and Scurry went about their business collecting and eating cheese. Every morning, the mice and little men put on their jogging suits and running shoes, left their homes, and raced around the maze looking for their favorite Cheese.

They each found their own kind of cheese one day at the end of one of the corridors in Cheese Station C. Every morning the mice and men headed over to Cheese Station C and soon they established their own routines. Sniff and Scurry woke up early everyday, always following the same route. The mice would arrive at the station, tie their running shoes together, and hang them around their necks so they could get to them quickly whenever they needed to.

Hem and Haw followed the same routine for a while, but later on, they awoke a little later each day, dressed slower, and walked to Station C, always assuming there would be Cheese waiting for them. In fact, the little people put away their running shoes, and grew very comfortable in Station C. Later, this overconfidence turned into arrogance.

The mice, on the other hand, always inspected the area, and noticed the Cheese supply was getting smaller every day. One morning they discovered there was no more cheese. The mice did not overanalyze things, they knew it was coming, so they simply untied their running shoes from their necks and put them on. The mice wasted no time and immediately ventured into the maze in search of New Cheese.

Hem and Haw arrived later, and having taken their Cheese for granted, they were surprised to find there was no more cheese. Hem yelled, “Who moved my Cheese?” Because the Cheese was so important to them, the two little people spent too much time deciding what to do. They couldn’t believe the Cheese was gone. After much whining, Haw suggested,

MAYBE WE SHOULD JUST STOP ANALYZING THE SITUATION SO MUCH AND JUST GET GOING AND FIND SOME NEW CHEESE.

While Hem and Haw were wasting time fretting over their situation, Sniff and Scurry had already found a great supply of New Cheese at Cheese Station N. Haw began to imagine himself tasting and enjoying New Cheese. Hem refused to leave Cheese Station C. Haw also began to realize his fear was keeping him from leaving Hem and going back into the maze. He painted a picture in his mind of himself venturing out into the maze and eventually finding New Cheese.

Haw was in the habit of writing thoughts on the wall for Hem to read. Before leaving he wrote, “If you do not change, you become extinct.” Haw would write thoughts like these every now and then as he went about the maze, hoping Hem would venture out of Station C and read the handwriting on the wall. Haw found a little cheese here and there. As he moved through the maze, he learned several things for himself:

He needed to let go of his fears.
He realized what lies out there could be a lot better, not worse.
He should be alert in order to anticipate change, and next time, periodically smell the cheese to check if it is getting old. And to learn these important lessons he had to tell himself:

GET OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE.

He found a cheese station but it was empty. He realized that if he had moved sooner, he would have very likely found a good deal of New Cheese here. So he wrote on the wall:

THE QUICKER YOU LET GO OF OLD CHEESE, THE SOONER YOU FIND NEW CHEESE.

Haw went back to the cheeseless station to offer Hem some bits of Cheese he had picked up along the way. Hem turned it down because he wanted the cheese he was used to. Haw went back into the maze. Haw soon came to realize:

The fear you let build up in your mind is worse than the situation that actually exists.

WHAT YOU ARE AFRAID OF IS NEVER AS BAD AS WHAT YOU IMAGINE.

When you change what you believe, you change what you do.

Haw soon found New Cheese at Station N, and met up with his old friends Sniff and Scurry who looked like they had been there for quite some time because they had grown fat. Haw reflected as he enjoyed his New Cheese. He realized many more things:

He had been holding onto the illusion of Old Cheese that was no longer there.
He had started to change as soon as he learned to laugh at his own mistakes, then he was able to let go and move on.
Sniff and Scurry kept life simple. They didn’t overanalyze or overcomplicate things. They simply moved with the Cheese.
The mistakes he made in the past can be used to plan for the future.
Notice the little changes so you are better prepared for the big change that might be coming.
The biggest inhibitor of change lies within your self. Nothing gets better until You change.
THERE IS ALWAYS NEW CHEESE OUT THERE.

While Haw still had a supply of cheese, he often went out and explored new areas in order to stay in touch with what was happening around him. He knew it was safer to be aware of his real choices than to isolate himself in his comfort zone.

The four characters live in a maze and look for cheese to nourish them and make them happy. The maze is where you spend time looking for what you want. It may be the organization you work in, the relationships you have in your life, or the community you live in.

Two of the characters named Sniff and Scurry are mice. They represent parts of us that are simple and instinctive. Hem and Haw are the little people, representing those complex parts of us as human beings. Sometimes we are like Sniff, who anticipates change early by sniffing it out, or Scurry, who quickly scurries into action and adapts. Maybe we are more like Hem, who denies change and resists it out of fear, or Haw, who learns to adapt in time when he sees something better. Whatever part of us we choose, we all share the common need to find our way in the maze of life and succeed in changing times.