WHO MOVED MY CHEESE?

SPENCER JOHNSON

Business is everywhere but business wisdom nowhere. Who Moved My Cheese? is a seminal work by Dr. Spencer Johnson that talks about business wisdom. It gives valuable lessons and tools to handle relationships, to understand human nature, and cope with changes in life.

Life is filled with surprises, shock, and changes. Accept it, and enjoy life’s adventures. Don’t be afraid of changes in life, learn to manage it. ‘Who moved my cheese’, isn’t an ancient parable, its message is applicable even now. It deals with the major issues which every person struggles with such as overcoming fear, handling changes in life, and finding a path to achieve their goal.

THINK LIKE A SIMPLE MOUSE 

“Think simple like a little mouse”, is what the parable says. There were four characters, Sniff, Scurry, Haw, and Hem. All the four were in search of cheese but the purpose and method were different. Sniff and Scurry didn’t think too much, when they didn’t find cheese in one place, they just went in another direction. Haw and Hem weren’t hungry but searched for cheese as it would make them happy. They were scared and frustrated when they didn’t find cheese despite their plans, and strategies. Haw and Hem found some cheese and took it for granted whereas Sniff, and Scurry moved on. When the cheese was gone Ham and Hew were angry and confused, but Ham dealt with it. He visualized sitting amidst cheese and overcame his fear and found the destination that Sniff and Scurry had already reached. Hem stayed emaciated and refused to budge whereas Ham didn’t stop when attaining the destination, he went in search of larger stashes.

This parable of these little mice gives lessons that are necessary for life. Most of us overcomplicate things and overthink. Don’t think too much like Hem and Haw, spend time efficiently like Sniff, and Scurry being instructive. Act without thinking, it saves energy and time. Try another station when one station is ‘cheeseless’. When good things happen, don’t take it for granted because changes will always occur. Expectation leads to disappointments as in the life of Hem. Expecting things to remain the same, will not allow us to see the signs of change and deny the fact that a change has happened. Adapt to situations, the sooner to change the sooner another way will be found again.

Another important tool is to visualize your goals. Ham visualized his goal and it made him push away his fear and march forward. Similarly, visualizing goals increases the desire to attain the goal. It gives them strength and energy to overcome fear and comfort zones. It is natural to be scared of changes as it offers new situations and a new set of rules. To find something better, it is necessary to step outside the comfort zone. Visualizing goals will help one embrace changes and once acted upon, fear will never paralyze us as the confidence of previous experience will give us courage and motivation to step forward. Move beyond fear and feel free.

Fear not only paralyzes but doesn’t allow one to recover. To recover from the loss of a loved one or loss of a business or a struggling relationship is not too easy but you’ll be left behind if you don’t. The only way to recover from it is to look out for new opportunities and change the attitude and mindset. They will fear trying something new but this may give fresh and ‘new cheese’. This new cheese may be a ‘new friend’, ‘new work’, or a ‘new way’ to handle conflicts in business or relationships. So, explore new directions, visualize the goal, come out of the comfort zone, and overcome the fear that stops you.

In business organizations, it is good to identify employees with the characteristics of Sniff, Scurry, Hem, and Ham. Sniffs are good observers who notice small changes and predict larger ones through it and discover new products. They anticipate change quickly by sniffing it out in the marketplace. Scurrys like things to be done and adapt easily, so they can be encouraged to work on a new corporate vision. People like Hem don’t have the courage like Haw to resist fear. They should adapt to new situations like Hem or else it may lead to a problem. Hams learn to adapt in time and learn something better.

From the life of these four mice, learn to look out for new opportunities because what works today may not work tomorrow. Even when things seem good, look for new and exciting opportunities because change is inevitable. Conquer the fear and come out with flying colours.

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