What cheese has to do with change 

Who moved my cheese ? Dr Spencer Johnson

Recently I have been taking a lot of trains – so I have been doing a lot of reading

Here is a little gem of a book written by Dr Spencer Johnson in 1998. All about how we as human face change in our lives.

It is a parable of what happens as humans when we face change and what pathways we could take.

The Cheese is a symbol of what we want in life – a new job, a new business, to live in another location… The Maze is where the action takes place – The Maze is our environment - where we live and work – and where we go looking for the magical cheese.

Why cheese you ask ? That’s because the 2 main characters are mice. In keeping with the theme - we are mice in a maze always seeking the cheese.

I’ll let you read the story for yourself but needless to say the short story talks about the concept building a life around what you presume will be there and what you presume will make you happy.

It ponders how you can predict change and look upon it positively and actively look for new ‘cheese’. It emphasizes the human resistance to change in our environment and urges us to pay attention to the small changes that foreshadow major change in our lives.

When we resist change - we as humans often become angry and frustration – the ‘why me’ syndrome. If you were not hampered by these feelings – the idea of change would make you feel invigorated and free.

The other key concept I enjoyed in this parable was the notion of ‘smelling the cheese often so you know when it is getting old”. In other words – change is everywhere – do not become complacent.

The old ‘kodak’ moment when Kodak failed to understand that the business they were in was not film - it was images and failed to adapt to the new emerging digital market – and when they did it was too late.

So here are my top take aways from a Classic book

  Decide if having Cheese makes you happy

  Understand that it is human nature that the more important cheese is to you – the more you will want to hold onto it when you get it

  If you were not afraid of change – how would that alter the way you reacted to change

  Smell the cheese often to know if it is getting old

  Often movement in a new direction will help you find new cheese

  The quicker you let go of old cheese – the sooner you are free to find new cheese.

“Change could surprise you only if you didn’t expect it and weren’t looking for it”