Who Moved My Cheese by Spencer Johnson Book Review

Who moved my cheese by spencer johnson the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry robert burns life doesn't always turn out the way we think it will when change happens a lot of us have a natural tendency to resist that change

Why simply put we are afraid of change change represents the unknown which challenges our sense of safety and security this is a very simple story about change it's about seeing change anticipating change and adapting to change now that sounds incredibly boring but luckily

The author spencer johnson has put a cool little twist on a boring topic and has interwoven the lessons of change into the story of four characters two mice named sniff and scurry

Two little people who are the same size as mice named hammond ha these four characters represent parts of us they represent the simple and complex within each of us as spencer put it sometimes

We may act like sniff who sniffs out change early or scurry who scurries into action or hem who denies and resists change as he fears it will lead to something worse or ha who learns to adapt in time when he sees changing can lead to something better the four characters

Leave their homes in the morning and search around the maze day in and day out searching for cheese the cheese is a metaphor for what we want to have in life whether that be a relationship a career freedom

Health a big house and so on the cheese represents what it is in our lives that makes us happy it's the thing that we're always chasing the maze represents where we spend most of our time looking for that

So-called cheese whether it be in the relationships of your life in an organization or in the community you live in let's get into the story sniff skurry hem and ha got up early each morning put on their running

Shoes and ran around the maze looking for their favorite cheese the mice used a trial and error method to find their cheese one would sniff and the other would scurry around the little people used their more sophisticated brains to find the cheese eventually they both found an enormous

Amount of cheese at cheese station c all was good they all went back to the cheese station seat every morning got fat on cheese and returned home every night this went on for a while as time went on sniff and skirt continued to wake up bright and early every morning they scurried over

To the cheese station sniffed around to see if anything had changed and then enjoyed their cheese throughout the day hem and ha on the other hand started waking up later each morning and would walk over to the cheese station expecting

Their cheese to be there they had so much cheese at cheese station c that they felt confident it would continue to be there each morning they had become a bit arrogant in their success of finding

The cheese and a bit too comfortable as you can imagine one day the cheese was all gone when the mice arrived early that morning they were not surprised they had noticed that their cheese supply was getting less

And less as they did their morning inspections they simply put their running shoes back on and set out into the maze looking for new cheese they didn't complicate the issue the problem and the solution were simple no more cheese go find new cheese as the author stated the situation

At cheese station c had changed so sniff and scurry decided to change when hem and ha arrived later that day they were shocked their whole world had been turned upside down they weren't aware of

The changes occurring in their environment and assumed the cheese would always be there hem rented and raved what no cheese no cheese who moved my cheese he hollered for a while and finally said it's not fair hall was just

As stunned but he didn't rant in rave he just stood there in shock and disbelief he couldn't believe it and just tuned it all out they went home that night hoping it would be back the next day but as you can imagine

It wasn't there the cheese was gone and it wasn't coming back hen began blaming others stating we are entitled to our cheese why did they do this to me what's really going on here sniff and scurry had been on

The move and had already found new cheese at cheese station n hem and ha face a lot of the same emotions that many of us face when change slaps us in the face they didn't want to face the facts they were in denial they didn't want to go back into the maze and look for new cheese

Because that meant uncertainty getting lost and possibly making a fool of themselves the fear of failure had taken grip they returned back to the empty cheese station seat every day simply because

It was familiar to them it was their comfort zone ha began to come to his senses he realized the error of his ways and began laughing when he realized what fear was doing to him ha tried to convince him to

Leave the station with him in search of new cheese but hem didn't want to listen ha contemplated his fears and asked himself what would you do if you weren't afraid ha built up some courage started to believe

That he could find new cheese envisioned himself finding new cheese and then set off into the dark maze alone and uncertain of what's to come although the journey into the unknown was tough at first that

Sense of adventure began to energize him he wished he had set out in search for new cheese earlier and said to himself better late than never by this point in the story ha had already learned some valuable lessons expect

Change look for signs that change is coming or in the words of spencer johnson smell the cheese often so you know when it's getting old and finally adapt to change quickly while on his new cheese quest he continued to reflect on

Why he didn't leave sooner he realized that his fears were holding him back as spencer stated so perfectly in the book what you are afraid of is never as bad as what you imagine the fear you build up in your mind is worse than

The situation that actually exists fear had been clouding his mind he lived in a state of fear and focused on what could go wrong instead of what could go right he finally understood that you have two choices

You can believe that change will harm you in which case you'll resist it or you can believe that change will help you in which case you'll embrace the change as he searched the maze he realized he was happy when

He wasn't being run by his fears sure some fear is natural and should be taken seriously since it can keep you out of real danger but he knew that most of his fears were irrational and stopping him from making

The changes he needed to letting go and trusting in what lay ahead even though he didn't know what it was and not letting fear stop him from his quest was what nourished his soul and gave him strength he realized that change could lead to something better as he continued to look for new cheese

He continued learning some key lessons the quicker you let go of old cheese the sooner you find new cheese movement in a new direction helps you find new cheese imagine yourself enjoying your new cheese leads

You to it it is safer to search in the maze than remain in a cheeseless situation when you see that you can find and enjoy new cheese you change course old beliefs do not lead to new cheese noticing small

Changes early helps you adapt to the bigger changes that are to come ha attempted to go back and show him the new lessons he had learned but hem was still stuck in his old ways hem wanted his old cheese back and wasn't willing to change ha finally gave up and realized that hem would have

To find his own way in order to move beyond his comfort zone and face his fears no one else could do it for him ha had come to the realization that the biggest inhibitor to change lies within yourself and that nothing gets better until you change see the mice kept things simple

They didn't over complicate they didn't overanalyze they changed as the situation changed the little people made these simple things quite complicated with their complex brains belief systems and human emotions

The little people are obviously smarter than the mice but they're directing their energies in the wrong direction imagine if they had the right attitudes and beliefs imagine if they used their amazing brains to envision

Something better to reflect on the mistakes of the past and use them when making plans for the future to keep things simple and flexible and to realize that you don't need to over complicate things or confuse yourself with fear-based beliefs wow they would be unstoppable at one point in the story

The author stated that ha laughed and realized that he had started to change as soon as he had learned to laugh at himself and at what he had been doing wrong he realized the fastest way to change is to laugh at your

Own folly then you can let go and quickly move on ha continued on his journey day in and day out he finally understood that breaking out of your comfort zone and enjoying the journey for new cheese is rewarding in and of itself actually finding the new cheese is just an additional bonus finally

Stumbled upon cheese station n where sniff and scurry were hanging out enjoying their cheese they were still ready for change as was ha they kept a good eye on things and hawk continued to venture out into the maze every now and then to see if anything had changed he was aware

Ready to adapt at a moment's notice one day ha heard a noise outside of cheese station n it sounded like someone else was coming could it be him he thought he said a little prayer and looked around the corner to see

The end did hem show up or was it someone else that's for you to decide can the hems of the world or in ourselves change their ways in their own time I think so it's a great little story with lots of great lessons now some of you may be thinking well all change isn't good we shouldn't just mindlessly

Conform to the needless changes forced on us by others great point and in the forward dr ken blanchard addresses this he says everyone knows that not all change is good or even necessary but in a world that is continually changing it is to our advantage to learn how to adapt and enjoy something better

It is not what is in the story of who moved my cheese but how you interpret it and apply it to your own situation that gives it value which character will you choose to be do you like to sniff things out and seek out opportunities do you like to jump into action like scurry or are you more like ha who resists change

Initially but remains open-minded enough to adapt before it's too late on a personal note the haws can be valuable because they do keep things a bit grounded a world of only sniffs and scurries may change

Too rapidly and simply fall apart the haas do provide a bit of stability or do you want to be like him poor hem the anchor who isn't willing to change the way things are done he's in his comfort zone and often says things

Like that's the way it's always been done around here the hems of the world are either too comfortable where they are or they're too scared to change they don't realize that the way things are done may have to change in order to survive and thrive the hems often feel like victims when their cheese which

They're somehow entitled to is taken away from them they whine and complain and resist moving on think about the different people in your life in your relationships work life communities and

So on who are the hems haws scurries and sniffs how can this story help you deal with them better how can these lessons help them change is difficult for people it makes people afraid so keep that in mind

When guiding and helping people through the path of change ultimately they have to do it themselves but you can certainly show them the way this is a very short book with lots of great lessons.

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